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Essay about Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm

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The cardiovascular system is the most important system in our body. This system is what keeps us alive. Beating on average 30 billion times a year, our heart is never able to stop and take a break. With every beat of our heart, the cardiovascular system moves blood, gases, nutrients, and hormones throughout the intricate vasculature of our bodies. An adult body contains over 60,000 miles of vessels, which can wrap around the world two and a half times. The vessel branching off of the heart is largest artery in our body and is known as the aorta. The aorta supplies oxygenated blood to our body. The aorta runs along the midline of our body and has many other vessels that stem from it to deliver the blood to a specific location. The …show more content…

Elastic tissue is very strong. The adventitia is the outermost layer. It is made of collagen and nourishes the wall with vasa vasorum.
An aneurysm is a widening or ballooning of a vessel. It is caused by weakness in the aortic wall. In the aortic wall, the media is mostly affected because it is the thickest. There are instances where dilation of the wall can occur, but to the outermost layer and this is not a typical aneurysm. It is known as a false aneurysm or a pseudoaneurysm. When the outermost layer is dilated, often times the inner or medial wall will rupture, but the outer wall will still be intact. The extracellular matrix proteins degenerate and the inflammatory T cells are present. The collagen and elastin dissolve and disintegrate which will lead to an expansion of the aortic wall. If the pressure in the vessel is too great, the aortic wall will rupture. An abdominal aortic aneurysm is a ballooning or dilating of the abdominal aorta. An aneurysm is diagnosed when the diameter of the vessel is greater than 50% of its original diameter. The aorta is normally two centimeters in diameter at the level or the renal arteries. An aneurysm is named based off of their location, size and shape. An aneurysm will affect how the vessel is shaped, therefore causing the blood flow to alter. When an aneurysm is symmetrical on both sides of the aortic wall it is called fusiform; but if only one side of the wall is dilated, it is saccular. Aneurysms

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