aorta

noun

aor·​ta ā-ˈȯr-tə 

plural aortas or aortae ā-ˈȯr-tē 

: the great arterial trunk that carries blood from the heart to be distributed by branch arteries through the body see heart illustration

aortic

ā-ˈȯr-tik 

adjective

Examples of aorta in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

To reduce this risk, Bridges started taking a beta blocker medication every day to help slow the dilation of his aorta. —Amanda Sealy, CNN, 7 Apr. 2024

Guitarist Glenn Tipton, a bona fide metal icon known for his electrifying solos, revealed he’d been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in 2018, and a relative newcomer to the band, guitar hotshot Richie Faulkner, nearly died onstage playing guitar in 2021 when his aorta ruptured. —Kory Grow, Rolling Stone, 11 Mar. 2024

Another injury that the girl suffered — one that wasn’t previously widely known — was a tear in her aorta on the right side of her heart. —Robert Salonga, The Mercury News, 22 Mar. 2024

Thus far, Hendrickson had managed to keep the details of Castro’s autopsy under wraps—how the internist had discovered an inexplicable mass of cells lodged in Castro’s aorta. —Elliot Ackerman, WIRED, 6 Feb. 2024

Blood rushes through the tear, causing the inner and middle layers of the aorta to split and normal blood flow throughout the body may slow or stop. —Vanessa Etienne, Peoplemag, 15 Jan. 2024

Fleming and Murphy fired 16 times, hitting Richards seven times, including twice in the chest, rupturing his aorta. —Eric Umansky, ProPublica, 14 Dec. 2023

On Tuesday, Mali, who was confirmed to have cancer and an aorta blockage after her death, was seen lying on her side and breathing heavily, Dr. Heinrich Patrick Peña-Domingo, the chief veterinarian at the Manila Zoo, said at the news conference, according to BBC News. —Lizzie Hyman, Peoplemag, 29 Nov. 2023

Manila zoo's chief veterinarian announced Mali died from pancreatic cancer, as well as a blockage in her aorta. —Emma Ogao, ABC News, 1 Dec. 2023

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from Medieval Latin, borrowed from Greek aortḗ "aorta, bronchial tubes (in plural aortaí), knapsack," nominal derivative from the stem of aeírein "to join, attach, harness," of uncertain origin

Note: The word appears earlier as Middle English aborchi, abhorti, adorte "aorta," comparable with Middle French aborthi and Medieval Latin adorti; these forms most likely reflect Latin translation of the Arabic versions of Greek medical texts. — The Greek medical term aortḗ belongs to a small set of forms based on aeírein that refer to both attachment and suspension, as áōrto "was hung" ("[máchaira]… pàr xípheos méga kouleón aeìn áōrto" - "[the knife]… was always hung beside the great sheath of his sword"—Iliad 3, 272), aortḗr "belt or strap for hanging a sword or satchel," and aórtēs "knapsack." Perhaps the aorta was pictured as an organ attached to and suspended from the heart in the way a scabbard is hung from a belt. Note that the verb aeírein displays two sets of meanings, that of harnessing and attachment (outside of nominal derivation almost always with the prefix syn- syn-) and of lifting or raising. Whether or not these should be regarded as two verbs of distinct origin or as semantic branches of the same verb is unclear. Though an Indo-European verb base *h₂u̯er- can be reconstructed from the Greek evidence, there appear to be no definitely comparable forms outside Greek. See also artery, meteor.

First Known Use

1543, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing aorta

• arch of the aorta

Kids Definition

aorta

noun

aor·​ta ā-ˈȯrt-ə 

plural aortas or aortae -ˈȯrt-ē 

: the main artery that carries blood from the heart to branch arteries by which it is carried throughout the body

aortic

-ˈȯrt-ik 

adjective

Medical Definition

aorta

noun

aor·​ta ā-ˈȯrt-ə 

plural aortas or aortae -ē 

: the large arterial trunk that carries blood from the heart to be distributed by branch arteries through the body