title: Spontaneous nontraumatic rupture of the thoracic aorta: report of a case.
abstract: Spontaneous nontraumatic rupture of the thoracic aorta is a very rare, life-threatening condition for which emergency diagnostic and therapeutic measures are indicated. The patient reported herein suffered a spontaneous rupture of the thoracic descending aorta through an atheromatous plaque without aneurysmal formation. When acute intrapericardial, mediastinal, or intrapleural bleeding develops without any evidence of aortic aneurysm or dissection, the possibility of spontaneous rupture of the thoracic aorta should be considered in the differential diagnosis, and appropriate emergency surgery may be life-saving.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiovascular Surgery, Chiba Cardiovascular Center, Ichihara, Japan.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ito
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Murayama
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ishida
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Asano
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Nakagawa
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Nakamura
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D001013:Aorta, Thoracic; D001019:Aortic Rupture / Q000209:etiology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male