[Traumatic rupture of the aorta after a jump from the 3-meter-board (author's transl)]

Report on a protracted rupture of the aorta in an unusual place (on the diphragmatic fissure and over the junction of the renal arteries). A 13 years old boy who jumped from the 3-meter-board landed flat on his back in the water. A complete rupture with haemorrhaging in the left thoracic cavity and the para-aortal tissue developed 20 h after the accident under clinical observation with non-specific symptoms. Judging by the biomechanical development, the rupture can best be explained as the result of horizontal deceleration. Pathological changes in the aorta wall could not be identified.