Root of aorta

The ascending aorta begins at the opening of the aortic valve in the left ventricle of the heart.

It runs through a common pericardial sheath with the pulmonary trunk.

These two blood vessels twist around each other, causing the aorta to start out posterior to the pulmonary trunk, but end by twisting to its right and anterior side.

At the root of the ascending aorta, the lumen has three small pockets between the cusps of the aortic valve and the wall of the aorta, which are called the aortic sinuses or the sinuses of Valsalva.

The left aortic sinus contains the origin of the left coronary artery and the right aortic sinus likewise gives rise to the right coronary artery.

Together, these two arteries supply the heart.

The posterior aortic sinus does not give rise to a coronary artery.

For this reason the left, right and posterior aortic sinuses are also called left-coronary, right-coronary and non-coronary sinuses.