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Aortic rupture - chest x-ray

Aortic rupture - chest X-ray

Overview

Aortic rupture (a tear in the aorta, which is the major artery coming from the heart) can be seen on a chest x-ray. In this case, it was caused by a traumatic perforation of the thoracic aorta. This is how the x-ray appears when the chest is full of blood (right-sided hemothorax) seen here as cloudiness on the left side of the picture.

Review Date 7/31/2022

Updated by: Denis Hadjiliadis, MD, MHS, Paul F. Harron, Jr. Professor of Medicine, Pulmonary, Allergy, and Critical Care, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA. Also reviewed by David C. Dugdale, MD, Medical Director, Brenda Conaway, Editorial Director, and the A.D.A.M. Editorial team.