Aortic isthmus
Citation, DOI, disclosures and article data
Citation:
Jones J, Sharma R, Moore C, et al. Aortic isthmus. Reference article, Radiopaedia.org (Accessed on 15 Jan 2025) https://doi.org/10.53347/rID-22291
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rID:
22291
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Disclosures:
At the time the article was created Jeremy Jones had no recorded disclosures.
View Jeremy Jones's current disclosures
Last revised:
Disclosures:
At the time the article was last revised Rohit Sharma had no recorded disclosures.
View Rohit Sharma's current disclosures
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18 times, by
16 contributors -
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Synonyms:
- Aortic isthmi
- Isthmus of the aorta
The aortic isthmus is the part of the aorta just distal to the origin of the left subclavian artery at the site of the ductus arteriosus.
This portion of the aorta is partly constricted in the fetus because of the lack of flow within the aortic sac and ascending aorta. It marks the partial separation of fetal blood flow derived from the right and left ventricles.
History and etymology
Derived from the Ancient Greek ισθμος (isthmos) meaning a neck of land 3.
Related pathology
- most common anatomical area of traumatic thoracic aortic injuries in patients surviving long enough to be imaged 1
- the site of the ductus diverticulum which is an anatomical variant of the aorta that should be differentiated from an aortic pseudoaneurysm in the setting of trauma 2
- the aortic isthmus index (isthmus flow index) is used in obstetric Doppler as a marker of raised placental resistance and fetal growth restriction 4
References
- 1. Creasy JD, Chiles C, Routh WD et-al. Overview of traumatic injury of the thoracic aorta. Radiographics. 1997;17 (1): 27-45. doi:10.1148/radiographics.17.1.9017797 - Pubmed citation
- 2. Ferrera PC, Ghaemmaghami PA. Ductus diverticulum interpreted as traumatic aortic injury. Am J Emerg Med. 1997;15 (4): 371-2. - Pubmed citation
- 3. James Morwood, John Taylor. Pocket Oxford Classical Greek Dictionary. (2002) ISBN: 9780198605126
- 4. Tynan D, Alphonse J, Henry A, Welsh A, W: The Aortic Isthmus: A Significant yet Underexplored Watershed of the Fetal Circulation. Fetal Diagn Ther 2016;40:81-93. doi: 10.1159/000446942 https://www.karger.com/Article/FullText/446942#
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