The Aorta - A Historically Infamous Blood Vessel

Poor Historians: Misadventures in Medical History

Let's mix one part anatomy lesson with one part historical overview of a very important blood vessel that has been a problem for numerous famous figures including Lucille Ball and Albert Einstein. We'll talk about what the aorta is, the various ways it can become a problem, people in recent and past history who have had issues with it, and finally how we developed a modern treatment for some of its overall fortunately uncommon problems.
Of note we'll be doing our very best not to confuse aortic aneurysms (abnormal weakening of the walls causing a ballooning of the vessel) with dissections (where the vessel wall starts to rip apart) during this episode, but even we mix up the terminology once in awhile.
Also, the sentient supercomputer that helps us navigate windows to the past has found a new romantic companion now that the James Webb Space Telescope is yesterday's news. Find out who it is in this episode.
Reference Links

​​-https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3233335/

-https://vascularnews.com/endovascular-revolution-in-the-aorta-25-years-of-a-landmark-case/

-https://medium.com/@malorynye/aortic-dissections-how-to-save-a-life-c97e2b65f9ad

-https://www.acep.org/globalassets/new-pdfs/clinical-policies/tad1-2015.pdf

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