Abdominal aortic aneurysm with rupture into the inferior vena cava.

ANEURYSM of the abdominal aorta is a rare finding. Osler' reported 11 instances of abdominal aneurysm out of 2200 necropsies performed at the Johns Hopkins Hospital. Later, at the same institution, he found 16 cases of abdominal aortic aneurysm among 18,000 necropsies. The first case, according to Osler, was reported by Vesalius in 1567. Rupture is the characteristic course of the disease. Most often the rupture occurs into the retroperitoneal tissues, the next in frequency being into the peritoneal cavity; a considerable number of instances of rupture into the gastrointestinal tract have been reported as well. Of course rupture may occur into any structure in the abdominal cavity but, as far as we have been able to determine, there has never been a reported case of abdominal aortic aneurysm with spontaneous rupture into the inferior vena cava. It is because of the rarity of this condition that this report is being made.