Rupture of vasa vasorum and intramural hematoma of the aorta: a changing paradigm

Abstract

Rupture of vasa varorum has been recognized as one cause of intramural hematoma of the aorta for 90 years. This brief revision presents systematically, the physiology of these vessels and its role in the physiopathology of the alterations in the aortic wall secondary to hypertension, arteriosclerosis and in Acute Aortic Syndrome. The hypothesis is that rupture of vasa vasorum is a secondary phenomenon and not one causal factor in the physiopathology of intramural hematoma.

Aortic intramural hematoma; vasa vasorum; aortic dissection