Dissecting Aneurysm of the Aorta in Mother and Child

Shennan's report on dissecting aneurysm of the aorta (1934) was based on 297 cases. Ten years later Schnitker and Bayer found that the total number of cases had risen to 580; of these, 141 (24%) occurred before the age of 40 and these form the subject of their paper. Of the total 141, 92 were males and 49 females; in 24 of the females (49%) the aneurysm occurred in association with preg- nancy. Another point of interest emerging from this study is the occasional occurrence of dissecting aneurysms in childhood and adolescence: 31 cases-5 per cent of the total 580-occurred in the age range 1 to 20 years.