Visceral pleura
Pleura visceralis (pulmonalis)
Also known as: pulmonary pleura
The thin, shiny serous membrane intimately covering the lung surface and lining its fissures; insensitive to pain.
Overview
The visceral pleura cannot be dissected from the lung. It covers the costal, diaphragmatic and mediastinal surfaces and dips into the oblique and horizontal fissures, so the lobes can slide on one another. At the hilum it becomes continuous with the parietal pleura.
It shares the autonomic and visceral afferent supply of the lung and therefore has no pain sensation, which is why lung tumours confined within the visceral pleura are often painless; pain appears when disease reaches the parietal pleura.
- Location
On the surface of each lung.
Anatomy
- Innervation
Autonomic (pulmonary plexus) with visceral afferents sensitive to stretch only; no somatic pain fibres.
- Arterial supply
Bronchial arteries (with contribution from the pulmonary circulation); venous drainage into the pulmonary veins.
- Lymphatic drainage
Superficial subpleural lymphatic plexus → bronchopulmonary nodes.
- Histology
Mesothelium on a fibroelastic layer continuous with the interlobular septa.
Function
- Provides a smooth, lubricated surface for lung movement.
- Contributes to lung elastic recoil.
Clinical significance
Visceral pleural invasion
Invasion of the visceral pleura upstages lung cancer. Rupture of subpleural blebs through the visceral pleura causes primary spontaneous pneumothorax.
Compiled from standard anatomy and physiology references — see the Respiratory System sources. For education only; not medical advice.