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aorta

  (ā-ôr'tə)

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aorta

A. arch of aorta B. abdominal aorta (Carlyn Iverson)

The main trunk of the systemic arteries, carrying blood from the left side of the heart to the arteries of all limbs and organs except the lungs.

[New Latin, from Greek āortē, from āeirein, to lift.]

The main vessel of the systemic arterial circulation arising from the left ventricle of the heart; it is divided into three parts for convenience only. The first portion, the ascending aorta, passes upward under the pulmonary artery; the coronary arteries arise at the base of the ascending aorta behind the aortic valves. The second part, or aortic arch, curves over the hilum of the left lung, giving off the innominate, left carotid, and left subclavian arteries, which supply the neck, head, and forelimbs. The third portion, or descending aorta, continues downward in the thorax on the left side of the vertebral column to the diaphragm, giving off small arteries to the bronchi, esophagus, and other adjacent tissues. Below the diaphragm this vessel, known as the abdominal aorta, descends to the level of the fourth lumbar vertebra where it bifurcates into the two common iliac arteries supplying the hindlimbs.

In the abdomen the major branches of the aorta include the single celiac, superior mesenteric and inferior mesenteric, and the paired renal and internal spermatic (male) or ovarian (female) arteries. In addition, many small branches go to other organs and to the body wall.

The main arterial trunk of the systemic circulation. Consists of four parts: the ascending aorta, the arch of the aorta, the thoracic portion of the descending aorta, and the abdominal portion of the descending aorta.

For more information on aorta, visit Britannica.com.

The major artery in the body. It carries blood from the left ventricle of the heart.

The main blood vessel of the body; it carries blood from the left side of the heart to other arteries throughout the body. (See circulatory system.)

Pl. aortae, aortas [L.] the great artery arising from the left ventricle, being the main trunk from which the systemic arterial system proceeds. See also aortic.

• abdominal a. — the part of the descending aorta within the abdomen.
• ascending a. — the first part of the aorta which passes dorsally and cranially.
• descending a. — the aorta after it turns caudally at the aortic arch.
• overriding a. — see overriding aorta.
• supravalvular a. — the portion of aorta immediately above the aortic valve.
• terminal a. — the segment of the aorta immediately before it divides into the iliac arteries.
• thoracic a. — the part of the descending aorta within the thorax.

Artery: Aorta
The thoracic aorta, heart and other great vessels.
Gray's	subject #142
Branches	thoracic aorta, abdominal aorta
MeSH	Aorta

The aorta (generally pronounced [eɪˈɔːtə] or "ay-orta") is the largest artery in the human body, originating from the left ventricle of the heart and bringing oxygenated blood to all parts of the body in the systemic circulation.

The course of the aorta

The aorta is usually divided into five segments/sections ^{[1] [2]} :

• Ascending aorta — the section between the heart and the arch of aorta
• Arch of aorta — the peak part that looks somewhat like an inverted "U"
• Descending aorta — the section from the arch of aorta to the point where it divides into the common iliac arteries
  • Thoracic aorta — the half of the descending aorta above the diaphragm
  • Abdominal aorta — the half of the descending aorta below the diaphragm

Features

The aorta is an elastic artery, and as such is quite distensible. When the left ventricle contracts to force blood into the aorta, the aorta expands. This stretching gives the potential energy that will help maintain blood pressure during diastole, as during this time the aorta contracts passively. <Imagemap> Image:Diagram of the human heart (cropped).svg|350px|thumb| Anterior (frontal) view of the opened heart. White arrows indicate normal blood flow. circle 316 480 70 right ventricle circle 440 431 63 left ventricle circle 601 436 47 aortic valve circle 594 331 49 mitral valve circle 361 285 50 left atrium circle 206 318 49 right atrium circle 307 111 70 aorta rect 9 394 124 463 pulmonary valve rect 13 467 131 533 tricuspid valve rect 75 588 290 645 inferior vena cava rect 109 9 242 63 superior vena cava rect 477 103 620 170 pulmonary artery rect 484 177 640 253 pulmonary vein </imagemap>

Diseases/pathology

• Aneurysm of sinus of Valsalva
• Aortic aneurysm - myotic, bacterial (e.g. syphilis), senile, genetic, associated with valvular heart disease
  • Dissecting aortic aneurysm
• Aortic coarctation - pre-ductal, post-ductal
• Atherosclerosis
• Marfan syndrome
• Trauma, such as traumatic aortic rupture, most often thoracic and distal to the left subclavian artery^[3] and frequently quickly fatal^[4]

References

1. ^ Tortora, Gerard J: "Principles of Human W. & Karen A. Koos: Human Anatomy, second edition, page 479. Wm. C. Brown Publishing, 1994 (ISBN 0-697-12252-2)
2. ^ De Graaff, Van: "Human Anatomy, fifth edition", pages 548-549. WCB McGraw-Hill, 1998 (ISBN 0-697-28413-1)
3. ^ Samett EJ. http://www.emedicine.com/radio/topic44.htm Aorta, Trauma. eMedicine.com. Accessed on: April 24, 2007.
4. ^ (2006) "Aortic Trauma in Scotland - A Population Based Study.". European Journal of Vascular and Endovascular Surgery 32 (6): 686-689. PMID 16750920. Retrieved on 2007-04-24. 

External links

• Gray's s153 - Descending aorta
• Gray's s154 - Abdominal aorta

Cardiovascular system
Blood  |  Heart  → Aorta → Arteries → Arterioles → Capillaries → Venules → Veins → Vena cava → Heart → Pulmonary arteries → Lungs → Pulmonary vein

List of arteries of torso - chest
Pulmonary / coronary	right coronary: SA nodal - AV nodal - atrial - right marginal - posterior interventricular left coronary: anterior interventricular - left circumflex - left marginal
Ascending aorta	aortic arch - brachiocephalic (thyreoidea ima) - common carotid
Subclavian	internal thoracic: anterior intercostal - thymic - pericardiacophrenic - terminal (musculophrenic, superior epigastric) costocervical trunk: highest intercostal (posterior intercostal 1-2) - deep cervical
Descending / thoracic aorta	visceral: bronchial - esophageal - mediastinal parietal: posterior intercostal 3-11 - subcostal - superior phrenic

List of arteries of torso - abdomen
AA: Anterior	celiac left gastric splenic: pancreatic branches (arteria pancreatica magna) – short gastric – left gastro-omental common hepatic: proper hepatic (cystic), right gastric, gastroduodenal (right gastro-omental, superior pancreaticoduodenal) SMA inferior pancreaticoduodenal – intestinal – ileocolic (appendicular) – right colic – middle colic IMA left colic – sigmoid – superior rectal – marginal
AA: Posterior	visceral: middle suprarenal – renal (inferior suprarenal) – testicular/ovarian parietal: inferior phrenic (superior suprarenal) – lumbar – median sacral terminal: common iliac (IIA, EIA)
IIA: Anterior	umbilical (superior vesical, to ductus deferens) – inferior vesical – middle rectal – uterine (azygos of the vagina) – vaginal – obturator (anterior branch, posterior branch) – internal pudendal (inferior rectal, perineal, artery of the urethral bulb, urethral, deep artery of the penis, dorsal artery of the penis) – inferior gluteal (accompanying of ischiadic nerve, crucial anastomosis)
IIA: Posterior	iliolumbar – lateral sacral – superior gluteal
EIA	inferior epigastric (cremasteric) – deep circumflex iliac

This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)

Dansk (Danish)
n. - aorta

Nederlands (Dutch)
aorta (lichaamsslagader)

Français (French)
n. - aorte

Deutsch (German)
n. - Aorta, Hauptschlagader

Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - (ανατ.) αορτή

Italiano (Italian)
aorta

Português (Portuguese)
n. - aorta (f) (Anat.)

Русский (Russian)
аорта

Español (Spanish)
n. - aorta

Svenska (Swedish)
n. - aorta (anat.)

中文（简体） (Chinese (Simplified))
大动脉

中文（繁體） (Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 大動脈

한국어 (Korean)
n. - 대동맥

日本語 (Japanese)
n. - 大動脈

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(الاسم) الوتين : الشريان الأورطي‏

עברית (Hebrew)
n. - ‮אב-עורקים, אבעורק‬

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