Persistent truncus arteriosus

Persistent truncus arteriosus, often called simply truncus arteriosus, is a rare form of congenital heart disease that is present at birth. During normal development the embryonic structure called the truncus arteriosus divides into the pulmonary trunk and the aorta. In this condition it fails to divide, so a single arterial trunk arises from the heart and supplies mixed blood to the coronary arteries, the pulmonary arteries and the systemic circulation. The source adds that under the International Paediatric and Congenital Cardiac Code, developed to standardize nomenclature for the eleventh revision of the International Classification of Diseases, the condition should properly be termed common arterial trunk. This entry records it as a congenital malformation of the heart and does not give medical advice.