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The ductus arteriosus is a fetal structure that communicates between the descending thoracic aorta and the pulmonary artery.
The ductus arteriosus allows most of the blood from the right ventricle to bypass the fetus’s fluid-filled non-functioning lungs.
It closes at birth, and becomes the ligamentum arteriosum.
Patent ductus arteriosus Occurrence rate 6 times as many cases in babies born at high altitude than at sea level reflecting the importance of oxygen.
The ductus arteriosus is formed from the left 6th aortic arch during embryonic development.