Aortic Dissection

http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?artid=1764957 All three of these images are CT images of aortic dissections. An aortic dissection is a tear in the wall of the aorta that causes blood to flow between the layers of the wall and forces the layers apart. Massive blood loss can occur if it is torn completely. Death may also occur. Men more frequently have aortic dissections than woman. If the dissection reaches 6 cm emergency surgery is needed. Sometimes stents are placed in patients that are at high risk for surgery. Dissections cause chest pain with associtated cold sweats. The pain may be localized but it typically moves if the dissection gets worse.