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The aorta is the main and largest artery in the human body, originating from the left ventricle of the heart and extending down to the abdomen, where it splits into two smaller arteries. The aorta distributes oxygenated blood to all parts of the body through the systemic circulation.
The circulatory system, also called the cardiovascular system or the vascular system, is an organ system that permits blood to circulate and transport nutrients, oxygen, carbon dioxide, hormones, and blood cells to and from the cells in the body to provide nourishment and help in fighting diseases, stabilize temperature and pH, and maintain homeostasis.
A heart valve is a one-way valve that normally allows blood to flow in only one direction through the heart. The four valves are commonly represented in a mammalian heart that determines the pathway of blood flow through the heart. A heart valve opens or closes incumbent on differential blood pressure on each side.
The ductus arteriosus, also called the ductus Botalli, named so from the Italian anatomic Leonardo Bottallo[], is a blood vessel in the developing fetus connecting the trunk of the pulmonary artery to the proximal descending aorta. It allows most of the blood from the right ventricle to bypass the fetus's fluid-filled non-functioning lungs. Upon closure at birth, it becomes the ligamentum arteriosum.
A congenital heart defect (CHD), also known as a congenital heart anomaly and congenital heart disease, is a defect in the structure of the heart or great vessels that is present at birth. Signs and symptoms depend on the specific type of defect. Symptoms can vary from none to life-threatening. When present, symptoms may include rapid breathing, bluish skin (cyanosis), poor weight gain, and feeling tired. CHD does not cause chest pain. Most congenital heart defects are not associated with other diseases. A complication of CHD is heart failure.
Coarctation of the aorta, also called aortic narrowing, is a congenital condition whereby the aorta is narrow, usually in the area where the ductus arteriosus inserts. The word coarctation means "pressing or drawing together; narrowing". Coarctations are most common in the aortic arch. The arch may be small in babies with coarctations. Other heart defects may also occur when coarctation is present, typically occurring on the left side of the heart. When a patient has a coarctation, the left ventricle has to work harder. Since the aorta is narrowed, the left ventricle must generate a much higher pressure than normal in order to force enough blood through the aorta to deliver blood to the lower part of the body. If the narrowing is severe enough, the left ventricle may not be strong enough to push blood through the coarctation, thus resulting in lack of blood to the lower half of the body. Physiologically its complete form is manifested as interrupted aortic arch.
Transposition of the great vessels (TGV) is a group of congenital heart defects involving an abnormal spatial arrangement of any of the great vessels: superior and/or inferior venae cavae, pulmonary artery, pulmonary veins, and aorta. Congenital heart diseases involving only the primary arteries belong to a sub-group called transposition of the great arteries (TGA), which is considered the most common congenital heart lesion that presents in neonates.
Persistent truncus arteriosus (PTA) is a rare form of congenital heart disease that presents at birth. In this condition, the embryological structure known as the truncus arteriosus fails to properly divide into the pulmonary trunk and aorta. This results in one arterial trunk arising from the heart and providing mixed blood to the coronary arteries, pulmonary arteries, and systemic circulation.
The descending thoracic aorta is a part of the aorta located in the thorax. It is the third and last part of the thoracic aorta and is a continuation of the aortic arch. It is located within the posterior mediastinal cavity. The descending thoracic aorta begins at the lower border of the fourth thoracic vertebra and ends in front of the lower border of the twelfth thoracic vertebra, at the aortic hiatus in the diaphragm where it becomes the abdominal aorta.
Levo-Transposition of the great arteries is an acyanotic congenital heart defect in which the primary arteries are transposed, with the aorta anterior and to the left of the pulmonary artery; the morphological left and right ventricles with their corresponding atrioventricular valves are also transposed.
The Norwood procedure is the first surgery of three staged heart surgeries to create a new functional systemic circuit in patients with hypoplastic left heart syndrome or other complex heart defects with single ventricle physiology. The Norwood procedure involves atrial septectomy and transection and ligation of the distal main pulmonary artery. The proximal pulmonary artery is then connected to the hypoplastic aortic arch, while the coarcted segment of the aorta is repaired. An aortopulmonary shunt is created to connect the aorta to the main pulmonary artery to provide pulmonary blood flow. The second surgery is the separation of the systemic and pulmonary circulation once pulmonary vascular resistance has fallen, by removing the aortopulmonary shunt followed by the creation of a bidirectional SVC-pulmonary shunt, also known as a modified Glenn procedure or Hemi-Fontan. The third surgery is the Fontan procedure, in which the inferior vena cava is connected to the branch pulmonary arteries. After this surgery is completed, all the venous blood returning from the body flows directly to the lungs.
The aortic arch, arch of the aorta, or transverse aortic arch is the part of the aorta between the ascending and descending aorta. The arch travels backward, so that it ultimately runs to the left of the trachea.
A right-to-left shunt is a cardiac shunt which allows blood to flow from the right heart to the left heart. This terminology is used both for the abnormal state in humans and for normal physiological shunts in reptiles.
The aortic arches or pharyngeal arch arteries are a series of six paired embryological vascular structures which give rise to the great arteries of the neck and head. They are ventral to the dorsal aorta and arise from the aortic sac.
Interrupted aortic arch is a very rare heart defect in which the aorta is not completely developed. There is a gap between the ascending and descending thoracic aorta. In a sense it is the complete form of a coarctation of the aorta. Almost all patients also have other cardiac anomalies, including a ventricular septal defect (VSD), aorto-pulmonary window, and truncus arteriosus. There are three types of interrupted aortic arch, with type B being the most common. Interrupted aortic arch is often associated with DiGeorge syndrome.
The aorticopulmonary septum is developmentally formed from neural crest, specifically the cardiac neural crest, and actively separates the aorta and pulmonary arteries and fuses with the interventricular septum within the heart during heart development.
The truncus arteriosus is a structure that is present during embryonic development. It is an arterial trunk that originates from both ventricles of the heart that later divides into the aorta and the pulmonary trunk.
Hypoplastic right heart syndrome is a congenital heart defect in which the right atrium and right ventricle are underdeveloped. This defect causes inadequate blood flow to the lungs and thus, a blue or cyanotic infant.
Neural crest cells are multipotent cells required for the development of cells, tissues and organ systems. A subpopulation of neural crest cells are the cardiac neural crest complex. This complex refers to the cells found amongst the midotic placode and somite 3 destined to undergo epithelial-mesenchymal transformation and migration to the heart via pharyngeal arches 3, 4 and 6.
Right-sided aortic arch is a rare anatomical variant in which the aortic arch is on the right side rather than on the left. During normal embryonic development, the aortic arch is formed by the left fourth aortic arch and the left dorsal aorta. In people with a right-sided aortic arch, instead the right dorsal aorta persists and the distal left aorta disappears.
References
- 1 2 Bamforth, Simon D.; Chaudhry, Bill; Bennett, Michael; Wilson, Robert; Mohun, Timothy J.; Van Mierop, Lodewyk H.S.; Henderson, Deborah J.; Anderson, Robert H. (2013-03-01). "Clarification of the identity of the mammalian fifth pharyngeal arch artery". Clinical Anatomy. 26 (2): 173–182. doi:10.1002/ca.22101. ISSN 1098-2353. PMID 22623372.