Aorticopulmonary septum

Overview
The aorticopulmonary septum (also called the spiral septum, or aortic septum in older texts) is developmentally formed from neural crest, specifically the cardiac neural crest, and actively separates the aorta and pulmonary arteries and fuses with the interventricular septum within the heart during development.

The actual mechanism of septation of the outflow tract is poorly understood, but is recognized as a dynamic process with contributions from contractile, hemodynamic, and extracellular matrix interactions.

Clinical significance
The development of the aorticopulmonary septum is complex, and disorders of development are associated with several congenital heart defects, including:


 * persistent truncus arteriosus
 * double outlet right ventricle
 * transposition of the great vessels
 * tetralogy of Fallot