title: Giant unruptured aneurysm of the thoracic aorta--a case report.
abstract: An asymptomatic 88-year-old woman underwent a screening medical examination. The chest x-ray film showed a large mediastinal mass with calcification. Both chest computed tomography and nuclear magnetic resonance imaging revealed an unruptured aortic aneurysm, predominantly affecting the ascending aorta and the proximal part of the aortic arch. Its maximum diameter was 10.5 cm. An ascending aortic aneurysm more than 10 cm in diameter is very rare. She died of acute pulmonary embolism unrelated to the aneurysm, and autopsy indicated that the etiology of the aneurysm was atherosclerotic degeneration. Retrospectively, the natural progression of the aneurysm was able to be followed on a series of chest x-ray films obtained over 18 years.
authors.affiliation: The Second Department of Internal Medicine, Ehime University School of Medicine, Japan. okura@m.ehime-u.ac.jp
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Okura
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Kitami
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Takata
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Fukuoka
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Arimitsu
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Hiwada
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001011:Aorta / Q000473:pathology; D001013:Aorta, Thoracic / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology; D001014:Aortic Aneurysm / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000209:etiology; D017545:Aortic Aneurysm, Thoracic / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000209:etiology; D001018:Aortic Diseases / Q000150:complications; D001161:Arteriosclerosis / Q000150:complications*; D002114:Calcinosis / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D002423:Cause of Death; D018450:Disease Progression; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D009682:Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy; D011655:Pulmonary Embolism / Q000209:etiology; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed