A great way to determine whether you a hot air balloon ride is for you is to try a tethered balloon ride at a fair or publicity event. In a tethered ride, balloons are anchored and pilots simply fly the balloon up and down with passengers in tow. Rides are short and last just a few minutes each.
The aorta is the largest artery in the body. The aorta begins at the top of the left ventricle, the heart's muscular pumping chamber. The heart pumps blood from the left ventricle into the aorta through the aortic valve. Three leaflets on the aortic valve open and close with each heartbeat to allow one-way flow of blood. The aorta is a tube about a foot long and just over an inch in diameter.
pl. aortae, aortas [L.] the great artery arising from the left ventricle, being the main trunk from which the systemic arterial system proceeds. See Table 9. See also aortic. abdominal aorta. the part of the descending aorta within the abdomen. ascending aorta. the first part of the aorta which passes dorsally and cranially. descending aorta. the aorta after it turns caudally at the aortic arch. overriding aorta. see overriding aorta. supravalvular aorta. the portion of aorta immediately above the aortic valve. terminal aorta. the segment of the aorta immediately before it divides into the iliac arteries.