Hi friends and family! I hope you are all doing well and having the best start to 2025! For today's Topic Tuesday post, we are going to be reviewing the zones of the Aorta!
As a brief review, the aorta is the major artery of the body which connects the major pumping chamber of the heart (left ventricle) to the rest of the body. Because it encompasses such a large amount of our bodies, doctors need an objective way of identifying different regions when characterizing disease in the aorta. This is where the zone classification system comes in!
This website from RK.MD has a great overview of the Aortic Zone classification system - https://rk.md/2021/zones-of-the-aorta/
Having a standardized classification system like this makes it easy for doctors to easily identify what parts of the aorta are diseased and may need surgical replacement. The following are "high-yield" zones of the aorta:
Zone 0 starts from the aortic root and travels up to the first head vessel - the innominate artery. This artery supplies oxygen-rich blood to the right side of your brain and right arm.
Zone 1 travels from the innominate artery to the left common carotid artery, which supplies blood to the left side of your brain.
Zone 2 goes from the left common carotid artery to the left subclavian artery which gives off arteries that supply your chest wall, left arm and left brain.
Zone 3 marks the transition to the descending aorta.
Zones 6 through 8 contain the "visceral" branches of the aorta. This means it has arteries that come off of it to supply organs in our abdomen.
Zone 6 = celiac artery (supplies your stomach, liver, spleen, gallbladder, small intestine, pancreas)
Zone 7 = superior mesenteric artery (supplies small intestine and large intestine)
Zone 8 = renal arteries (supplies kidneys)
Zone 10 marks the area at which the aorta separates into two common iliac arteries which supply the leg. This supplies blood to the groin/pelvis, lower extremities, reproductive organs and legs.
And that wraps up this week's session my friends. I hope you found today's post helpful. Until next time, remember to stay calm and Think Aorta!
Until next time,
Adham
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