Aortic sinus

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Aortic sinus
Aorta laid open to show the semilunar valves. (Aortic sinus labeled at upper left.)
Latin sinus aortae
Gray's subject #138 535
Dorlands/Elsevier s_12/12738570

An aortic sinus is one of the anatomic dilations of the ascending aorta which occurs at the aortic root, i.e., just above the aortic valve.

There are generally three aortic sinuses, the left, the right and the posterior.

  • The left aortic sinus gives rise to the left coronary artery.
  • The right aortic sinus gives rise to the right coronary artery.
  • Usually, no vessels arise from the posterior aortic sinus, which is therefore known as the non-coronary sinus.

Each aortic sinus can also be referred to as the sinus of Valsalva, the sinus of Morgagni, or Petit's sinus.

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