The dorsal aortae are paired (left and right) embryological vessels which progress to form the

descending aorta In human anatomy, the descending aorta is part of the aorta, the largest artery in the body. The descending aorta begins at the aortic arch and runs down through the chest and abdomen. The descending aorta anatomically consists of two portions o ...

. The paired dorsal aortae arise from aortic arches that in turn arise from the aortic sac. The primary dorsal aorta is located deep to the lateral plate of

mesoderm The mesoderm is the middle layer of the three germ layers that develops during gastrulation in the very early development of the embryo of most animals. The outer layer is the ectoderm, and the inner layer is the endoderm.Langman's Medical Emb ...

and move from lateral to medial position with development and eventually will fuse with the other dorsal aorta to form the

. Each primitive aorta anteriorly receives the vitelline vein from the yolk-sac, and is prolonged backward on the lateral aspect of the

notochord In anatomy, the notochord is a flexible rod which is similar in structure to the stiffer cartilage. If a species has a notochord at any stage of its life cycle (along with 4 other features), it is, by definition, a chordate. The notochord consi ...

under the name of the dorsal aorta. The dorsal aortae give branches to the yolk-sac, and are continued backward through the body-stalk as the

umbilical arteries The umbilical artery is a paired artery (with one for each half of the body) that is found in the abdominal and pelvic regions. In the fetus, it extends into the umbilical cord. Structure Development The umbilical arteries supply deoxygenated ...

to the villi of the chorion.

References

External links

* * * {{Authority control Embryology of cardiovascular system Aorta