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the main trunk of the arterial system, conveying blood from the left ventricle of the heart to all of the body except the lungs.
Contemporary Examples

His aorta and amygdala do not receive this information by automatic transfer.
Does Fatherhood Make You Healthy? Anneli Rufus September 28, 2011

That blade had gone through, and the X-rays revealed that the tip of the blade was on the edge of my aorta, the main artery.
The Black and White Men Who Saved Martin Luther King’s Life Michael Daly January 19, 2014

The blade pierced his liver and diaphragm, missing his heart and aorta by a fraction of an inch.
Thank God the Murrysville School Attack Wasn’t Guns Michael Daly April 8, 2014

The closer the tear occurs to the root of the aorta, where it emerges from the heart, the more dangerous it can be.
What Killed Richard Holbrooke? Casey Schwartz December 13, 2010

The largest artery, the aorta arches up from the heart, carrying blood throughout the body.
What Killed Richard Holbrooke? Casey Schwartz December 13, 2010

Historical Examples

The internal elastic lamina as such disappeared and the inner layer of the aorta fused with the middle coat.
Arteriosclerosis and Hypertension: Louis Marshall Warfield

aorta: the anterior, narrow part of the heart, opening into the head.
Explanation of Terms Used in Entomology John. B. Smith

Ligature of the aorta may result in either an increased or decreased flow of direct lymph.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 17, Slice 2 Various

The aorta was at least one half larger than usual, especially at its arch.
Cases of Organic Diseases of the Heart John Collins Warren

Shows atheroma (fatty degeneration) of the aorta, irregular heart-action, hypertrophy and enlargement of the heart.
Pedagogical Anthropology Maria Montessori

noun (pl) -tas, -tae (-tiː)
the main vessel in the arterial network, which conveys oxygen-rich blood from the heart to all parts of the body except the lungs
n.

1570s, from Medieval Latin aorta, from Greek aorte, term applied by Aristotle to the great artery of the heart, literally “what is hung up,” from aeirein “to lift, heave, raise,” of uncertain origin; related to the second element in meteor. Used earlier by Hippocrates of the bronchial tubes. Related: Aortal; aortic.

aorta a·or·ta (ā-ôr’tə)
n. pl. a·or·tas or a·or·tae (-tē)
The large artery that is the main trunk of the systemic arterial system, arising from the base of the left ventricle, ending at the left side of the body of the fourth lumbar vertebra, dividing to form the right and left common iliac arteries, and whose parts are the ascending aorta, the aortic arch, and the descending aorta.
a·or’tal or a·or’tic adj.
aorta
(ā-ôr’tə)
Plural aortas or aortae (ā-ôr’tē)
The main artery of the circulatory system, arising from the left ventricle of the heart in mammals and birds and carrying blood with high levels of oxygen to all the arteries of the body except those of the lungs.
aorta [(ay-awr-tuh)]

The main blood vessel of the body; it carries blood from the left side of the heart to other arteries throughout the body. (See circulatory system.)