Skip to content
EasyAnatomyLab
Menu

Descending aorta: anatomy, location and function

The descending aorta is the part of the aorta beyond the arch that runs down through the thorax and abdomen. It supplies the chest wall, abdominal organs, pelvis and lower limbs.

Loading 3D model…
Skin0%
Muscles100%

Structures

Loading… Click the model or search.

Highlighted in the model: Descending aorta. Click any part to read about it, or switch off “Highlight topic” to see the whole body. 3D data: BodyParts3D, © The Database Center for Life Science, CC BY 4.0; meshes simplified and recoloured. The model is an adult male.

Descending aorta at a glance

What it is
The descending aorta is the part of the aorta beyond the arch that runs down through the thorax and abdomen.
Location
It begins at the level of the T4-T5 intervertebral disc, passes through the aortic hiatus at T12 and ends at L4 by dividing into the common iliac arteries. It is divided into the thoracic and abdominal parts.
Function
It supplies the chest wall, abdominal organs, pelvis and lower limbs.
Body system
Cardiovascular · single, midline structure
FMA ID
FMA3784 (Foundational Model of Anatomy)

Key facts

  • This entry covers the whole of the thoracic and abdominal aorta.
  • The arch and descending aorta are joined at the aortic isthmus, a common site of tearing in deceleration injuries.

Structures next to the descending aorta

The nearest named structures in the 3D model, measured from the centre of each part:

References

  1. Foundational Model of Anatomy: Descending aorta (FMA3784). EMBL-EBI Ontology Lookup Service.
  2. OpenStax. Anatomy and Physiology 2e, §20.1 Structure and Function of Blood Vessels. Rice University, 2022.
  3. Mitsuhashi N. et al. (2009). BodyParts3D: 3D structure database for anatomical concepts. Nucleic Acids Research 37, D782–D785. Data © The Database Center for Life Science, CC BY 4.0.

Related anatomy

Explore the whole body in the interactive 3D human anatomy model, or browse the A–Z list of human structures.