Some Observations from A Roentgenological Study of the Aorta

Abstract

THE purpose of this paper is to offer some observations on the role of the roentgenologist in the diagnosis of aortitis and aortic aneurysm. In View of the great importance of the early recognition of these conditions and the difficulty of establishing the diagnosis, even when the physical findings and clinical symptoms have been most carefully correlated, any other diagnostic aid that can be offered is most welcome. Aortitis in the majority of cases is of syphilitic origin. While all cases of aortitis are not due to syphilis, the preponderance of syphilitic aortitis as reported by various observers makes consideration of aortitis of this type of prime importance, especially in view of the fact that in approximately 90 per cent of fatal cases of syphilis either macroscopic or microscopic evidence of aortitis is found at autopsy. When one considers this fact, together with the fact that, according to statistics of the War Department, the Wassermann test gives a positive reaction in 16.8 per cent of recruit...