Date of Award

Spring 5-31-1968

Document Type

Open Access Thesis

Degree Name

Medical Doctor (MD)

Abstract

The development of the aortic isthmus, that region of the arch of the aorta between the left subclavian artery and the attachment of the ligamentum arteriosum, has received little attention. While the developmental history of the ductus arteriosus and foramen ovale has been well documented, as have the cardiac malformations associated with failure to complete this developmental sequence, little work has been done to define the normal sequence of isthmus development in its transition to an adult configuration in the postnatal period. It has long been recognized that the cardiac malformation known as infantile or preductal coarctation of the aorta occurs at the aortic isthmus and there has been speculation since the earliest descriptions of this lesion that a developmental abnormality of the aortic isthmus plays a role in this malformation. Data on the normal isthmus size during fetal life and through the establishment of the adult circulation would be useful in the clinical assessment of preductal coarctation of the aorta and of other cardiac malformations where retention of certain fetal circu latory patterns may be associated with the presence of retarded isthmus development. This study is designed to document the sequence of development of the aortic isthmus in the normal infant from the third trimester of gestation through early infancy utilizing a technique comparable to modern

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This is an Open Access Thesis.

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