The Probert Encyclopaedia of Medicine

AORTA

The aorta is the body's largest blood vessel. It arches out of the heart and down toward the lower body. It has a diameter of about one inch and blood rushes through it at a speed of about eight inches per second. The aorta is divided into several parts: the ascending aorta, the arch of the aorta, and the thoracic and abdominal portions of the descending aorta.
Research Aorta