Abdominal aortic branch occlusion

[Zipporah Schumaker]

Abdominal aortic branch occlusion is blockage or narrowing of one of the large arteries in the abdomen that come off of the aorta.
The aorta is the largest artery of the body. It receives oxygen-rich blood from the heart and distributes it to the body through smaller arteries that branch off of it. The abdominal aorta is the part of the aorta that passes through the abdominal cavity. Important branches of the abdominal aorta include the arteries that supply blood to the
Blockage of the arteries that branch off of the aorta may develop suddenly or slowly.
Sudden blockage (acute occlusion) of branches of the abdominal aorta may result from a blood clot that has developed in the artery or traveled into it from elsewhere (embolism), or because the layers of the artery suddenly separated (dissection).
Slowly developing blockage of branches of the abdominal aorta may result from hardening of the arteries (atherosclerosis), in which deposits of cholesterol and other fatty materials (atheromas or atherosclerotic plaques) develop in the walls of arteries), abnormal growth of muscle in the artery