tetralogy of Fallot

[ fa-loh ]

noun

, Pathology.

1. a congenital malformation of the heart characterized by an abnormal opening in the septum dividing the ventricles, misplacement of the aorta so that it receives blood from both ventricles instead of only the left ventricle, narrowing of the pulmonary artery, and enlargement of the right ventricle.

tetralogy of Fallot

/ tĕ-trăl′ə-jē,-trŏl′-;fă-lō′ /

1. A congenital malformation of the heart characterized by a defect in the ventricular septum, misplacement of the origin of the aorta, narrowing of the pulmonary artery, and enlargement of the right ventricle. It is named after its describer, French physician Etienne-Louis Arthur Fallot (1850–1911).

Word History and Origins

Origin of tetralogy of Fallot¹

After Étienne Fallot, French physician who named the disease in 1888