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aorta |
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aortaThe body's main artery, arising from the left ventricle of the heart in birds and mammals. Carrying freshly oxygenated blood, it arches over the top of the heart and descends through the trunk, finally splitting in the lower abdomen to form the two iliac arteries. Arteries branching off the arch of the aorta carry blood to the upper body. Loss of elasticity in the aorta provides evidence of atherosclerosis, which may lead to heart disease. In fish a ventral aorta carries deoxygenated blood from the heart to the gills, and the dorsal aorta carries oxygenated blood from the gills to other parts of the body. How to thank TFD for its existence? Tell a friend about us, add a link to this page, add the site to iGoogle, or visit webmaster's page for free fun content. |
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| The primary part of the surgery consisted of replacing the ascending aorta, the first section of the aorta, with a synthetic cylinder, McPherson said. The surgeons who worked on him said that the round would have hit him dead center in his ascending aorta, a likely fatal injury. The port-access operation involves a mini-thoracotomy (8 cm) on an arrested heart by using percutaneously inserted endovascular occluder balloons in the ascending aorta. |
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