Tags: Anatomical Structure, Artery.
In the developing fetus the ductus arteriosus (DA) also called the ductus Botalli is a blood vessel connecting the pulmonary artery to the proximal descending aorta. It 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. There are two other fetal shunts the ductus venosus and the foramen ovale.
