Anatomy of the Vessels and Nerves of the Trunk (Angioneurology) - Chornokulskyi S. T. 2011

Vessels of the Systemic Circulation. Arteries of the Trunk

Arteries of the Trunk (Figs. 23-31)

The aorta (aorta) consists of three parts:

— the ascending part (aorta ascendens), originating from the aortic bulb (bulbus aortae);

— the aortic arch (arcus aortae); and*

— the descending part (aorta descendens).

* The ascending aorta and the aortic arch are described in the study guide "Anatomy of the Vessels and NERVES OF THE HEAD and Neck".

The descending part of the aorta (pars descendens aortae) or descending aorta (aorta descendens) (Fig. 23)

The descending aorta extends from the level of the fourth thoracic vertebra (on the left) to the level of the fourth lumbar vertebra, where it divides into the right and left common iliac arteries, a junction known as the aortic bifurcation (bifurcatio aortae). At the level of the aortic hiatus of the Diaphragm or ThXII, the descending aorta is divided into the thoracic part (pars thoracica aortae) and the abdominal part (pars abdominalis aortae).



Last update: 11/08/2026

Editorial and Educational Adaptation: This material has been compiled based on the primary/original source text. The project team performed an editorial review, corrected technical inaccuracies, structured sections, and adapted the content for an educational format.

What was processed:

  • elimination of formatting defects (OCR errors, structural breaks, corrupted characters);
  • editorial organization of content;
  • standardization of terminology in accordance with academic sources;
  • verification of factual statements against the original source text.

All mentions of the author, publication year, and origin of the primary text have been preserved in accordance with the source.