As with other vertebrates, humans are highly dependent on blood. Almost every organ rapidly suffers when it does not receive an adequate blood supply. Therefore, failure to pump blood (as in cardiac disease) or failure of vessels to deliver blood to end-organs can both lead to catastrophic results.
While many people focus on cardiology, which might seem “cooler,” it’s essential to remember that after the heart pumps, the entire cascade of arteries and veins is where the blood flows.
Among arteries, the aorta is the largest and comes directly out of the heart, making it particularly important, perhaps second only to the heart in the cardiovascular system.
In this series, we will discuss the basic anatomy and interesting pathologies of the aorta.
Roadmap
Basic and anatomy
Interesting pathology
TBA
P.S.
Peripheral arteries will be covered in a future series.