In the human heart, the aortic body ("glomus aorticum") is one of several small clusters of chemoreceptors, baroreceptor

Baroreceptor

Baroreceptors are sensors located in the blood vessels of several mammals. They are a type of mechanoreceptor that detects the pressure of blood flowing through them, and can send messages to the central nervous system to increase or decrease total peripheral resistance and cardiac output...

s, and supporting cells located along the aortic arch

Aorta

The aorta is the largest artery in the body, originating from the left ventricle of the heart and extending down to the abdomen, where it branches off into two smaller arteries...

.

Function

It measures changes in blood pressure and the composition of arterial blood flowing past it, including the partial pressures of oxygen

Oxygen

Oxygen is the element with atomic number 8 and represented by the symbol O. Its name derives from the Greek roots ὀξύς and -γενής , because at the time of naming, it was mistakenly thought that all acids required oxygen in their composition...

 and carbon dioxide

Carbon dioxide

Carbon dioxide is a naturally occurring chemical compound composed of two oxygen atoms covalently bonded to a single carbon atom...

 and pH

PH

In chemistry, pH is a measure of the acidity or basicity of an aqueous solution. Pure water is said to be neutral, with a pH close to 7.0 at . Solutions with a pH less than 7 are said to be acidic and solutions with a pH greater than 7 are basic or alkaline...

. The chemoreceptors responsible for sensing changes in blood gases are called glomus cell

Glomus cell

A glomus cell is a peripheral chemoreceptor, located in the carotid bodies and aortic bodies, that helps the body regulate breathing. When there is a decrease in the blood's pH, a decrease in oxygen , or an increase in carbon dioxide , the carotid bodies and the aortic bodies signal the medulla...

s.

It gives feedback to the medulla oblongata

Medulla oblongata

The medulla oblongata is the lower half of the brainstem. In discussions of neurology and similar contexts where no ambiguity will result, it is often referred to as simply the medulla...

 via the afferent branches of the vagus nerve

Vagus nerve

The vagus nerve , also called pneumogastric nerve or cranial nerve X, is the tenth of twelve paired cranial nerves...

 (X). The medulla, in turn, regulates breathing and blood pressure.

Disorders

A paraganglioma

Paraganglioma

A paraganglioma is a rare neuroendocrine neoplasm that may develop at various body sites . About 97% are benign and cured by surgical removal; the remaining 3% are malignant because they are able to produce distant metastases...

 is a tumor that may involve the aortic body.

Swelling

Swelling (medical)

In medical parlance, swelling is the transient enlargement or protuberance in the body and may include tumors. According to cause, it may be congenital, traumatic, inflammatory, neoplastic or miscellaneous....

 can also occur.

Nomenclature

Some sources equate the "aortic bodies" and "paraaortic bodies", while other sources explicitly distinguish between the two. When a distinction is made, the "aortic bodies" are chemoreceptors which regulate Circulatory system

Circulatory system

The circulatory system is an organ system that passes nutrients , gases, hormones, blood cells, etc...

, while the "paraaortic bodies" are the chromaffin cells which manufacture catecholamine

Catecholamine

Catecholamines are molecules that have a catechol nucleus consisting of benzene with two hydroxyl side groups and a side-chain amine. They include dopamine, as well as the "fight-or-flight" hormones adrenaline and noradrenaline released by the adrenal medulla of the adrenal glands in response to...

s.