MORPHOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF STRUCTURAL COMPONENTS OF THE AORTA IN CHILDREN WITH CRITICAL COARCTATION OF THE AORTA

The critical coarctation of the aorta (CoA) is congenital heart defect, which makes up 10% of all congenital heart diseases and requirs surgery in the neonatal period. Severe heart failure develops in approximately 50% of infants with CoA and mortality ranges from 10% to 100% depending on its combination with complex congenital heart diseases.

Morphological investigation using general histological, histochemical, light microscopic techniquesrevealed a violation of elastogenesis, formation of focal or subtotal sclerotic and degenerative processes in the wall of the aorta, leading to disturbance of hemodynamics in the affected segment.