Patent ductus arteriosus can actually be treated early on.

动脉导管未闭其实在早期就可以开始治疗。

Remember how prostaglandin E2 keeps the ductus arteriosus open during fetal development?

还记得是前列腺素E2使动脉导管在胎儿发育期开放吗？

Soon after birth, the foramen ovale closes and prostaglandin E2 levels fall, causing the ductus arteriosus to close off.

出生后不久，卵圆孔闭合、前列腺素E2水平下降，导致动脉导管闭合。

The ductus arteriosus is right on the aortic arch where vessels are branching off to the brain and upper extremities.

动脉导管就位于主动脉弓上，发出供应上肢及大脑分支的血管位置。

Alright, so now that we've got this still-open ductus arteriosus, and we're using our lungs, now what happens?

好了，那么既然我们有这个持续开放的动脉导管，我们又要使用肺，那会发生什么呢？

In fetal development, the ductus arteriosus is kept open by high levels of a vasodilator prostaglandin E2 which is made by the placenta and by the ductus arteriosus itself.

在胎儿发育期，动脉导管开放是由于一种高浓度的血管扩张剂前列腺素E2，由胎盘和动脉导管自身分泌。

The lungs also start to release a small peptide called bradykinin which constricts the smooth muscle wall of the ductus arteriosus and helps the process along.

肺也开始释放缓激肽，收缩动脉导管的平滑肌，有助于动脉导管闭合。

Within the first day the ductus arteriosus usually starts clamping shut, and within 3 weeks, it's completely closed off and turned into the ligamentum arteriosum.

在第1天内，动脉导管通常开始闭合，在三周内，几乎完全关闭，变成动脉韧带。

Sometimes babies might be given prostaglandin E, which keeps the ductus arteriosus open, even though this is typically only a short-term solution and ultimately the baby's going to need surgical repair.

有时，宝宝可以用前列腺素E，来维持动脉导管的开放，尽管这通常只是一个短期的解决方案，最终宝宝会需要手术修复。

Alright, so to help visualize this, I'm going to switch to this super simplified version of the heart since it's better at showing the relationship between the aorta, branches, pulmonary artery, and ductus arteriosus.

为了可视化，我将使用这张极简版的心脏图，因为它能更好地显示主动脉及其分支、肺动脉、动脉导管之间的关系。