The aorticopulmonary septum is a spiral septum that divides the truncus arteriosus into the aorta

and pulmonary trunk. It develops from two truncal ridges. The truncal ridges develop due to
proliferation of mesenchymal cells derived from neural crest cells that migrate in the walls of
truncus arteriosus near the conus. The truncal ridges grow and fuse with each other to form the
spiral septum close to the conical part of the ventricle. Because the pulmonary trunk and aorta
are separated from each other by a septum that is spiral, the relationship of the pulmonary trunk
and aorta with each other differs in the lower, middle, and upper parts. The details are as under.

1. In the lower part: The spiral septum and bulbar septum are in the same plane and continuous
with each other close to the ventricle. The spiral septum here is in the coronal plane. As a result,
the pulmonary trunk is in front and ascending aorta is posterior.
2. In the middle part: The spiral septum is in the sagittal plane so that pulmonary trunk and
ascending aorta are situated side-by-side, with aorta being on right side and pulmonary trunk on
left side.
3. In the upper part: The spiral septum is again in the coronal plane but the aorta lies anteriorly
and pulmonary trunk lies posteriorly.