Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun 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.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun In the higher invertebrates, the large blood-vessel leading from the heart, usually anteriorly and posteriorly.
  • noun In anatomy, the main trunk of the arterial system, issuing from the left ventricle of the heart, conveying arterialized blood to all parts of the body except the lungs, and giving rise, directly or indirectly, to all the arteries of the body except the pulmonary.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun (Anat.) The great artery which carries the blood from the heart to all parts of the body except the lungs; the main trunk of the arterial system.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun anatomy The great artery which carries the blood from the heart to all parts of the body except the lungs; the main trunk of the arterial system.
  • noun figuratively The liveliest part of something.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun the large trunk artery that carries blood from the left ventricle of the heart to branch arteries

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[New Latin, from Greek āortē, from āeirein, to lift; see wer- in Indo-European roots.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Ancient Greek ἀορτή (aortē, "the arteries springing from the heart"), from ἀορτέω (aorteō), lengthened form of ἀείρω (aeirō, "I lift, raise")

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Examples

  • The fact that the horn barely missed the aorta is an UNBELIEVABLE piece of luck is what I meant to say.

    Close Calls: Gored By a Bull Elk 2009

  • The fact that the horn barely missed the aorta is an UNBELIEVABLE piece of luck is what I meant to say.

    Close Calls: Gored By a Bull Elk 2009

  • Surgeons reconstruct the heart so that the aorta is attached to the left ventricle and the pulmonary artery is attached to the right ventricle.

    Transposition of the Great Arteries 2008

  • Babies with tricuspid atresia and transposition of great arteries may require the “Norwood operation” if the aorta is too small (see hypoplastic left heart syndrome).

    Tricuspid Atresia 2010

  • In a child with coarctation of the aorta, the aorta is too narrow at the portion just after the upper-body arteries branch off - this obstructs blood flow.

    Coarctation of the Aorta 2009

  • The aorta is the main artery that carries oxygenated blood out of the heart to the body.

    Coarctation of the Aorta 2009

  • The aorta is the main artery that carries blood with oxygen out of the heart to the body.

    Interruption of the Aortic Arch 2010

  • The more the aorta is narrowed, the more severe the symptoms will be.

    Coarctation of the Aorta 2009

  • Here, a team diagnosed Sarah with moderate to severe aortic stenosis, which means that the heart valve that opens to allow blood to flow into the aorta is malformed and doesn't function correctly.

    Aortic Stenosis -- Sarah 2010

  • The aorta is attached to the right-sided pumping chamber (ventricle), instead of the left.

    Transposition of the Great Arteries 2008

Comments

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  • US Railway Association, Standard Cipher Code, 1906: railroad telegraph shorthand for "Has not made application".

    January 20, 2013

  • Well, aorta make an application den.

    January 20, 2013