Aorta

ā-or′ta, n. the great arterial trunk which, rising from the left ventricle of the heart, sends its branches ramifying through the whole body—in man subdivided into the arch , the thoracic aorta , and the abdominal aorta .— adjs. Aor′tal , Aor′tic . [Gr. aortē — aeir-ein , to raise up.]