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The ductus arteriosus, also called the ductus Botalli, named after the Italian physiologist Leonardo Botallo, is a blood vessel in the developing fetus connecting the trunk of the pulmonary artery to the proximal descending aorta. It allows most of the blood from the right ventricle to bypass the fetus's fluid-filled non-functioning lungs.
The removal of the placenta, a source of prostaglandin, is another mechanism by which the ductus arteriosus closes at birth. [8] Within the next 2 to 3 weeks, the constriction results in decreased blood flow to the structure which induces the death of the tissue to keep the structure permanently closed.
Prostaglandin E 2 (PGE 2), also known as dinoprostone, is a naturally occurring prostaglandin with oxytocic properties that is used as a medication. [2] [3] [4] Dinoprostone is used in labor induction, bleeding after delivery, termination of pregnancy, and in newborn babies to keep the ductus arteriosus open.
Patent ductus arteriosus (PDA) is a medical condition in which the ductus arteriosus fails to close after birth: this allows a portion of oxygenated blood from the left heart to flow back to the lungs from the aorta, which has a higher blood pressure, to the pulmonary artery, which has a lower blood pressure.
In adults, the ligamentum arteriosum has no useful function. It is a vestige of the ductus arteriosus, a temporary fetal structure that shunts blood from the pulmonary arteries to the aorta. This significantly reduces the volume of blood circulating through the lungs, which are inactive in the womb.
If that ductus arteriosus doesn’t close off, then the baby is left with a patent ductus arteriosus, and this condition accounts for about 10% of all congenital heart defects, of which the vast majority, about 90%, are isolated heart defects, meaning there aren’t any additional congenital defects.
The ductus arteriosus is a small, artery-like structure which allows blood to flow from the trunk of the pulmonary artery into the aorta; after birth, the blood in the pulmonary artery will flow into the lungs and the ductus arteriosus will close.
In normal development, the closed foramen ovale fuses with the interatrial wall. During the first breath, vasoconstriction causes the ductus arteriosus to close, and during adult years, tissue occludes what once was the ductus arterious, creating the ligamentum arteriosum. [3]