Clinical History: A 72-year-old man presented to a private hospital emergency room complaining of mid-back pain. His previous history was unremarkable except for a mild heart attack four years earlier with no apparent residual effect. The diagnosis was muscle strain and he was sent home. About 4 hours later he came to the University Hospital Emergency Room with severe back pain. At that time, he was pale, diaphoretic and blood pressure was 70/-. He was immediately taken to surgery where he had a cardiac arrest from which he could not be resuscitated At autopsy 2000 cc clotted blood was found in the peritoneal cavity and another 1000 cc was found in the tissue of the retroperitoneum of the lower abdomen Figure 1. The aorta is seen in Figure 2. Questions:
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