All Topics  
Ascending aorta

 

 
   Email Print
   Bookmark   Link
 

 

Ascending aorta
 
 
  Topics Ascending aorta Topic Home

The ascending aorta is a portion of the aorta
Aorta

The aorta 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....
 commencing at the upper part of the base of the left ventricle, on a level with the lower border of the third costal cartilage behind the left half of the sternum
Sternum

The sternum is a long flat bone located in the center of the chest . It connects to the rib via cartilage, forming the rib cage with them, and thus helps to protect the lungs, heart and major blood vessels from physical trauma....
; it passes obliquely upward, forward, and to the right, in the direction of the heart’s axis, as high as the upper border of the second right costal cartilage, describing a slight curve in its course, and being situated, about 6 cm behind the posterior surface of the sternum
Sternum

The sternum is a long flat bone located in the center of the chest . It connects to the rib via cartilage, forming the rib cage with them, and thus helps to protect the lungs, heart and major blood vessels from physical trauma....
.






Discussion
Ask a question about 'Ascending aorta'
Start a new discussion about 'Ascending aorta'
Answer questions from other users
Full Discussion Forum



Encyclopedia


The ascending aorta is a portion of the aorta
Aorta

The aorta 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....
 commencing at the upper part of the base of the left ventricle, on a level with the lower border of the third costal cartilage behind the left half of the sternum
Sternum

The sternum is a long flat bone located in the center of the chest . It connects to the rib via cartilage, forming the rib cage with them, and thus helps to protect the lungs, heart and major blood vessels from physical trauma....
; it passes obliquely upward, forward, and to the right, in the direction of the heart’s axis, as high as the upper border of the second right costal cartilage, describing a slight curve in its course, and being situated, about 6 cm behind the posterior surface of the sternum
Sternum

The sternum is a long flat bone located in the center of the chest . It connects to the rib via cartilage, forming the rib cage with them, and thus helps to protect the lungs, heart and major blood vessels from physical trauma....
. The total length is about 5 cm in length.

Components

The aortic root is the portion of the ascending aorta beginning at the aortic annulus and extending to the sinotubular junction. Between each commissure of the aortic valve
Aortic valve

The aortic valve is one of the heart valve of the heart. It lies between the left ventricle and the aorta....
 and opposite the cusps of the aortic valve, three small dilatations called the aortic sinuses.

The sinotubular junction is the point in the ascending aorta where the aortic sinuses end and the aorta becomes a tubular structure.

Relations

At the union of the ascending aorta with the aortic arch
Aortic arch

The arch of the aorta begins at the level of the upper border of the second sternocostal articulation of the right side, and runs at first upward, backward, and to the left in front of the Vertebrate trachea; it is then directed backward on the left side of the Vertebrate trachea and finally passes downward on the left side of the body of th...
 the caliber of the vessel is increased, owing to a bulging of its right wall.

This dilatation is termed the bulb of the aorta
Aorta

The aorta 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....
, and on transverse section presents a somewhat oval figure.

The ascending aorta is contained within the pericardium
Pericardium

The pericardium is a double-walled sac that contains the heart and the roots of the great vessels....
, and is enclosed in a tube of the serous pericardium, common to it and the pulmonary artery
Pulmonary artery

The pulmonary arteries carry blood from heart to the lungs. They are the only artery that carry deoxygenated blood.In the human heart, the pulmonary trunk begins at the base of the right ventricle....
.

The ascending aorta is covered at its commencement by the trunk of the pulmonary artery
Pulmonary artery

The pulmonary arteries carry blood from heart to the lungs. They are the only artery that carry deoxygenated blood.In the human heart, the pulmonary trunk begins at the base of the right ventricle....
 and the right auricula
Auricula

Auricula can refer to:* In botany, the plant Primula auricula, a type of primrose* In anatomy, another name for the external portion of the ear, the pinna ...
, and, higher up, is separated from the sternum by the pericardium, the right pleura, the anterior margin of the right lung, some loose areolar tissue, and the remains of the thymus; posteriorly, it rests upon the left atrium and right pulmonary artery.

On the right side, it is in relation with the superior vena cava
Superior vena cava

The superior vena cava is a large, yet short vein that carries deoxygenated blood from the upper half of the body to the heart's right atrium....
 and right atrium
Right atrium

The right atrium is one of four heart chamber in the human heart. It receives deoxygenated blood from the superior vena cava and inferior vena cava vena cava and the coronary sinus, and pumps it into the right ventricle through the tricuspid valve....
, the former lying partly behind it; on the left side, with the pulmonary artery.

Branches

The only branches of the ascending aorta are the two coronary arteries which supply the heart; they arise near the commencement of the aorta immediately above the attached margins of the semi lunar valves.

Additional images


External links