What is hemitruncus?

Also known as: hemitruncus arteriosus, pulmonary artery coming from the aorta, PACA, anomalous origin of the right pulmonary artery.

Normally, the pulmonary artery comes off the right ventricle of the heart and splits into two distinct branches to carry blood to the lungs. With this very rare heart abnormality (hemitruncus), the main pulmonary artery and one branch, typically the left, are found in the correct position, however the right one comes out of the ascending aorta.

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Reviewed by: Jack Wolfsdorf, MD, FAAP

This page was last updated on: 1/29/2019 3:21:13 PM