An aortic rupture was an condition in which a person suffered from a torn aorta. If not treated immediately, it led to death. In The Doctor's holonovel Photons Be Free, Tom Paris, while playing the part of the holographic doctor on the USS Vortex, received a patient who, after being scanned with a medical tricorder, had an aortic rupture. Before Paris could treat the crewman, Captain Jenkins had the crewman killed with a phaser, so he could treat Lieutenant Marseilles first. (VOY: "Author, Author")