ventral aorta
Quick Summary
The ventral aorta is a major blood vessel that carries blood from the heart to the rest of the body. In vertebrates, it originates from the heart and branches out to supply various regions. For instance, in embryonic vertebrates, the ventral aorta branches into six pairs of arteries that run between the gill slits, eventually joining the dorsal aorta.1
In amphibians, the situation is slightly different. They do not have a ventral aorta; instead, the arterial arches arise directly from the conus arteriosus, which is part of the heart. This arrangement allows the conus and its spiral valve to control the blood composition reaching each arterial arch. The main arterial arches in frogs are the carotid (supplying the head), systemic (supplying the body), and pulmonary (supplying the lungs and skin) arches.2
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