The aortic bodies are one of several small clusters of peripheral chemoreceptors located along the aortic arch. They are important in measuring partial pressures of oxygen and carbon dioxide in the blood, and blood pH.
Structure
The aortic bodies are collections of chemoreceptors present on the aortic arch. Most are located above the aortic arch, while some are located on the posterior side of the aortic arch between it and the pulmonary artery below. They consist of glomus cells and sustentacular cells. When a distinction is made, the "aortic bodies" are chemoreceptors which regulate the circulatory system, while the "paraaortic bodies" are the chromaffin cells which manufacture catecholamines.
Function
The aortic bodies measure partial gas pressures and the composition of arterial blood flowing past it.
- carbon dioxide partial pressure.
It has been hypothesized that inflammatory responses involving the aortic body play a role in the development of intractable and severe apnea known to occur in a subset of premature infants.
See also
- Carotid body
- Control of respiration
- Peripheral chemoreceptors