The topographic relationships of the unpaired visceral branches of the aorta.

We examined the metric relationship among the origins of the unpaired visceral branches of the aorta, their relationship to the total descending aorta (TDA), and the relationship between the TDA and stature to see whether a graft for the TDA, e.g., from the left subclavian artery to the aortic bifurcation, which includes its visceral branches, could be pre-constructed. These proportions were compared between the genders and between adults and children to see whether any differences exist. Thirty-four adult aortae and eight juvenile aortae were examined. These segments-TDA, aortic bifurcation to celiac artery, aortic bifurcation to superior mesenteric artery, and aortic bifurcation to inferior mesenteric artery, were defined as the distances between the origins of the left subclavian, celiac, superior mesenteric, and inferior mesenteric arteries, respectively, to the aortic bifurcation. Stature was known only in 15 adult cadavers. The absolute lengths of the segments were correlated to each other and the ratios of these absolute lengths (proportional lengths) were calculated. The statistical significance was examined by Student's T-test and variability by the F test. The TDA correlated well with aortic bifurcation to celiac artery and aortic bifurcation to superior mesenteric artery, whereas a weaker correlation existed with aortic bifurcation to inferior mesenteric artery. The ratio aortic bifurcation to celiac artery and aortic bifurcation to superior mesenteric artery to TDA was less variable than the ratio aortic bifurcation to inferior mesenteric artery to TDA. The abdominal aorta measured approximately a one-third of TDA. No differences in correlation nor in ratio were found between genders and between adults and children. No correlation between stature and TDA was found. The two upper unpaired visceral branches originate from the aorta in a prefixed site, which correlates closely with the length of the descending aorta, whereas the lower one has a more variable point of origin. This is true for all ages and for both genders. Aortic length does not correlate with stature. It is not possible thus to predict the length of the descending aorta by stature. However, a model of the descending aorta can be constructed, but with less accuracy, for the inferior mesenteric artery.