aorta

UK/eɪˈɔːtə/US/eɪˈɔɹtə/

nounB2+Common in everyday speech and writing · #6,816 of 15,258neutral

The aorta is the great artery carrying blood away from the heart. The aortic arch, an aortic aneurysm, blood leaves by the aorta.

It is the largest artery in the body, about the width of a garden hose, and everything the heart pumps passes through it. A rupture is among the most rapidly fatal events in medicine.

Definitions of aorta

1nounaortaThe great artery carrying blood away from the heart.B2+
“The surgeon repaired a tear in the aorta, just above the heart.”

aorta is an artery.

Where it comes from

Greek aorte comes from aeirein, to lift or raise.

Ancient Greek
ἀορτή — the arteries springing from the heart
English, today
aorta

Built from

ἀείρω · Ancient Greek — to lift, raise

Ancient Greek ἀορτή (“the arteries springing from the heart”), from ἀορτέω, lengthened form of ἀείρω (“to lift, raise”).

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA

Practise this word

aorta in the wild

The aortic valve is a valve in the heart of humans and most other animals, located between the left ventricle and the aorta.
Aortic valve
Aortic dissection can quickly lead to death from insufficient blood flow to the heart or complete rupture of the aorta.
Aortic dissection
The two main types are Stanford type A, which involves the first part of the aorta, and type B, which does not.
Aortic dissection
Aortic aneurysms result from a weakness in the wall of the aorta and increase the risk of aortic rupture.
Aortic aneurysm
A thoracic aortic aneurysm is the "ballooning" of the upper aspect of the aorta, above the diaphragm.
Thoracic aortic aneurysm

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From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. These sentences were written by other people about their own subjects; they are here to show the word at work, not as anybody’s opinion.

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