Descending aorta

{{Short description|Large artery passing vertically through the chest and abdomen}}

{{Infobox artery

| Name = Descending aorta

| Latin = aorta descendens,
pars descendens aortae

| Image = Gray506.svg

| Caption = Plan of the branches.

| Image2 = Gray530.png

| Caption2 = The thoracic aorta, viewed from the left side.

| BranchFrom = Ascending aorta

| BranchTo = Thoracic aorta
Abdominal aorta

| Vein =

| Precursor = Dorsal aorta

| Supplies =

}}

In human anatomy, the descending aorta is part of the aorta, the largest artery in the body. The descending aorta begins at the aortic arch and runs down through the chest and abdomen. The descending aorta anatomically consists of two portions or segments, the thoracic and the abdominal aorta, in correspondence with the two great cavities of the trunk in which it is situated. Within the abdomen, the descending aorta branches into the two common iliac arteries which serve the pelvis and eventually legs.

The ductus arteriosus connects to the junction between the pulmonary artery and the descending aorta in foetal life. This artery later regresses as the ligamentum arteriosum.{{cite book|editor1-last=Rubin|editor1-first=Raphael|editor2-last=Strayer|editor2-first=David S.|title=Rubin's Pathology: Clinicopathologic Foundations of Medicine|date=2008|publisher=Lippincott Williams & Wilkins|location=Philadelphia|isbn=9780781795166|page=442|edition=5th}}{{cite book|editor1-last=Naidich|editor1-first=David P.|editor2-last=Webb|editor2-first=W. Richard|display-editors=etal|title=Computed Tomography and Magnetic Resonance of the Thorax|date=2007|publisher=Lippincott Williams & Wilkins|location=Philadelphia|isbn=9780781757652|page=100|edition=4th}}

The descending aorta has important functions within the body. The descending aorta transports oxygenated blood from the heart to the rest of the body.{{Cite web |title=Aorta anatomy - UF Health |url=https://ufhealth.org/conditions-and-treatments/aorta-anatomy |access-date=2024-12-06 |website=ufhealth.org |language=en-US}}