[Curriculum vitae aortae].

The Greek word aorta means lifter. The vessel was so termed because Aristotle, who first described it, assumed that the heart was lifted by/hanging in aorta. Leonardo da Vinci described the detailed anatomy of aorta. During the 17th century our present understanding of the aorta and the circulation of blood took form due to the descriptions given by William Harvey. The first known operation for abdominal aortic aneurysm was performed in London in 1817 by Sir Astley Cooper who ligated the infrarenal aorta above the aneurysm. Puncture with needles and application of electricity were later tried in order to induce thromboses in the aneurysm. In 1948 Albert Einstein was operated with wrapping of his abdominal aneurysm with cellophane. In 1955 he suffered rupture and died after having refused operation. In 1951 the first successful operation for abdominal aortic aneurysm was performed in Paris by Charles Dubost. With slight modifications, the same operative technique is used today.