Before entering to define the concept of aorta, it is necessary that we determine its etymological origin. Specifically, this is found in the Greek and more exactly in the word άορΤή, which in turn comes from the term άείρειν which could be translated as “to raise”.
It is defined as an aorta to the artery that originates in the ventricle located in the left region of the heart muscle and that forms an arch and extends towards the abdomen area. There, at the level of the fourth lumbar vertebra, it has a bifurcation that extends into two smaller arteries, which are called primitive iliacs.
And that without forgetting that it is also necessary to emphasize that said artery is the largest of all those that exist in the human body.
Since the aorta constitutes the starting point of the rest of the arteries that are part of the circulatory system (with the exception of the pulmonary arteries, which leave the right ventricle), it is considered, on a medical level, as the most important artery in the human organism. Its function is to allow the transfer and guarantee the distribution of oxygen-rich blood to the other arteries.
The aorta is an artery with elastic characteristics that has flexibility and can be extended. When the left ventricle contracts to supply blood to the aorta (a process known as systole), an expansion occurs in it, which gives it the potential energy to help maintain blood pressure when the artery ends up contracting passively (diastole).
There are several diseases or pathologies that can affect said artery such as coarctation, which can be defined as a congenital type defect that is suffered in the heart and which means that it is affected by a narrowing. This means, among many other things, that the person in question who suffers from it is more likely to develop an infection in the aorta.
Likewise, mention should also be made of what is known as an aneurysm. This pathology is totally contrary to the previous one and is that it consists of the abnormal widening of the artery in question. In this case, a very specific one that can lead to a break in the wall of the wall and therefore the patient’s life is very seriously endangered.
Among the different recognizable segments in this artery are the so-called ascending aorta (a portion that is located between the heart and the arch, where the coronary arteries that carry blood to the myocardium originate), the aortic arch or arch (whose appearance it resembles a letter U but inverted and stands out for marking the beginning of the brachiocephalic trunk, the primitive carotid and the left subclavian) and the descending aorta (which extends from the aortic arch and ends in the division of the iliac arteries). The thoracic aorta may be mentioned as the half of the descending aorta above the diaphragm and the abdominal aorta. as the part of the descending aorta that lies below the diaphragm and reaches the bifurcation of the artery.
In addition to all the aforementioned, we can add that aorta is a word that is part of a broader term: aortic arch. With it, the arch that said artery forms from its birth to reaching the abdomen is defined.
