Fetal blood vessel connecting the pulmonary artery to the proximal descending aorta.
Note: This vessel allows most of the blood from the right ventricle to bypass the fetus’s fluid-filled non-functioning lungs. Upon closure at
birth, it becomes the
ligamentum arteriosum.
See also: patent ductus arteriosus
Source:
PAC, 2016, 88, 713. 'Glossary of terms used in developmental and reproductive toxicology (IUPAC Recommendations 2016)' on page 745 (https://doi.org/10.1515/pac-2015-1202)