Abstract
From the physiological view, the aorta has two functions: conduit function and reservoir function. The typical disorder with the failure of the conduit function is aortic coarctation. On the other hand, the typical condition with the reservoir dysfunction is aging. The histological findings of the aged aorta resemble to that in the aortopathy (decrease of elastin fiber, increase of collagen, calcium deposition, and cystic medial necrosis). The aged aorta increases the systemic ventricular workload, and this is disadvantageous for the coronary perfusion. One of the possible mechanisms of the damage of the aorta is the enhanced pressure wave reflection induced by the heterogeneity or discontinuity of the aortic wall property.
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Murakami, T. (2017). Physiological Background. In: Niwa, K., Kaemmerer, H. (eds) Aortopathy. Springer, Tokyo. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-4-431-56071-5_3
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-4-431-56071-5_3
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