Definitions

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

  • noun The curved portion of the aorta between the ascending and descending portions that gives rise to the brachiocephalic trunk, the left carotid artery, and the left subclavian artery.
  • noun One of a series of paired arteries in a vertebrate embryo that connects the ventral arterial system to the dorsal arterial system.

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

  • noun the part of the aorta that arches and turns downward

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Comments

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  • A term I remember from my fifth-grade science project about earthworms. They have five aortic arches, or what we might call hearts. And if this isn't a real word, then I want credit for having made it up when I was in fifth grade.

    March 11, 2008