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Glite Dictionary
thoracic aorta

thoracic aorta

1 6.6
A large blood vessel in the chest that carries blood from the heart to the chest wall and organs
  • noun
  • /θəˈræsɪk eɪˈɔrtə/
  • Specialized
translation icon : aorta torácica
  • Traumatic disruption of the thoracic aorta or its branches is a common cause of sudden death in patients with blunt thoracic trauma (Fig. 7).

Examples

  • Today, I want you to locate and identify the branches... of the descending thoracic aorta.

    Gross Anatomy (1989)

  • This is a metallic stent in the thoracic aorta, the aorta within the chest.

  • Thoracic aorta trauma

    Academic text (2016)

  • The aortography on this patient revealed a small type A dissection of the thoracic aorta.

  • A university in Sweden has discovered a genetic mutation that can cause dissection of the thoracic aorta, which is the body's main artery.

  • The deepest of which transected the thoracic aorta and the right mainstem bronchus.

Surface Forms

thoracic aorta singular
thoracic aortas plural

Morphology

thoracic + aorta

The meaning is directly and compositionally derived from 'thoracic' (relating to the chest) + 'aorta' (the main artery from the heart), so a learner who knows both words can infer 'the aorta located in the chest'. Although anatomical, this is a straightforward noun phrase rather than an idiom, and the same compositional logic occurs across languages, making it transparent.

Etymology

Thoracic aorta combines aorta, the body's 'main artery', with thoracic, meaning 'chest', so it names the part of the main artery that runs through the chest and gives blood to the chest organs.