The ligamentum arteriosum (or arterial ligament) is a small ligament

Ligament

In anatomy, the term ligament is used to denote any of three types of structures. Most commonly, it refers to fibrous tissue that connects bones to other bones and is also known as articular ligament, articular larua, fibrous ligament, or true ligament.Ligament can also refer to:* Peritoneal...

 attached to the superior surface of the pulmonary trunk and the inferior surface of the aortic arch

Aortic arch

The arch of the aorta or the transverse aortic arch is the part of the aorta that begins at the level of the upper border of the second sternocostal articulation of the right side, and runs at first upward, backward, and to the left in front of the trachea; it is then directed backward on the left...

. It is a nonfunctional vestige of the ductus arteriosus

Ductus arteriosus

In the developing fetus, the ductus arteriosus , also called the ductus Botalli, is a shunt connecting the pulmonary artery to the aortic arch. It allows most of the blood from the right ventricle to bypass the fetus's fluid-filled lungs. Upon closure at birth, it becomes the ligamentum arteriosum...

, and is formed within three weeks of birth

Childbirth

Childbirth is the culmination of a human pregnancy or gestation period with the birth of one or more newborn infants from a woman's uterus...

.

The ligamentum arteriosum is closely related to the left recurrent laryngeal nerve

Recurrent laryngeal nerve

The recurrent laryngeal nerve is a branch of the vagus nerve that supplies motor function and sensation to the larynx . It travels within the endoneurium...

, a branch of the left vagus nerve

Vagus nerve

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

. After splitting from the left vagus nerve, the left recurrent laryngeal loops around the aortic arch posterior to the ligamentum arteriosum, after which it ascends to the larynx.

This ligament also plays a role in major trauma; it fixes the aorta in place during rapid decelerations recoil, consequently potential resulting in ruptured aorta.

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