pericardium

the membranous sac enclosing the heart

Collins Discovery Encyclopedia, 1st edition © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

pericardium

[‚per·ə′kärd·ē·əm]

(anatomy)

The membranous sac that envelops the heart; it contains 5-20 grams of clear serous fluid.

The following article is from The Great Soviet Encyclopedia (1979). It might be outdated or ideologically biased.

Pericardium

the closed, saclike structure surrounding the heart in vertebrate animals and in man. The pericardium is an isolated part of the secondary body cavity, the coelom. It consists of two layers: an external, parietal layer—the pericardium proper—and an internal, visceral layer—the epicardium. The pericardium proper consists, in turn, of an internal, serous layer and an external, fibrous layer. The epicardium, being an external membrane of the heart, directly covers and is fused to the heart muscle (myocardium). In the region where large blood vessels enter and leave the heart, the epicardium is turned back and is continuous with the pericardium proper. Between the pericardium layers is a slitlike cavity containing a small quantity of transparent pale-yellow serous fluid. The pericardium contains blood vessels, lymphatics, and numerous nerve endings and is surrounded by areolar connective tissue. It has many receptors, whose stimulation causes hemodynamic and respiratory changes.

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References in periodicals archive

Its apex rises forward toward the fifth rib, causing the lower part of the pericardium to rise with the diaphragm and all that is adherent to it.

Physical Examination Signs of Inspection and Medical Eponyms in Pericarditis Part I: 1761 to 1852

Pericarditis is inflammation of pericardium with accumulation of serous or fibrous inflammatory products (Ibrahim and Gomm, 2016).

Clinico-Haematological Studies of Traumatic Pericarditis in Buffaloes

Congenital absence of pericardium is a rare condition with an incidence of less than 1 in 10,000 [1].

Congenital Partial Absence of Pericardium: A Mimic of Arrhythmogenic Right Ventricular Cardiomyopathy

Caption: Figure 2: Hematoxylin and eosin stains of pericardium at 200x magnification (a) and at 400x magnification (b, c) demonstrate tumor cells with irregular nuclei arranged as interconnecting vascular space.

A Patient Presenting with Cardiac Tamponade and the Challenges of Finding Its Cause: A Cardiac Angiosarcoma

The concavity of the pericardium, however, looks medially towards the midline, whereas the concavity of the pneumomediastinum is towards the peripheral border, giving the familiar "sail sign," on a chest radiograph.

Neonatal Pneumopericardium in a Nonventilated Term Infant: A Case Report and Review of the Literature

[3] MRI lightens Elastic CP and help to take a call to release the heart from jailed pericardium.

Cardiac MRI: The key to release the jailed heart

Bovine pericardium in proper size was selected and threaded with 3-Oprolene wire which was taken as safety wire.

Pulmonary artery closure in combination with patch technique for treating congenital heart disease combined with large patent ductus arteriosus: A clinical study of 9 cases

(NYSE: CRY) has exercised its right to acquire the PhotoFix bovine pericardium patch from Genesee BioMedical, Inc.

CryoLife Exercises Right to Acquire PhotoFix Bovine Pericardium Patch

M2 PHARMA-April 15, 2016-CryoLife exercises right to purchase USD2.3m PhotoFix bovine pericardium patch

CryoLife exercises right to purchase USD2.3m PhotoFix bovine pericardium patch

Clinical manifestations of cardiac tumors, irrespective of histological type, include palpitations, dyspnea, fatigue, chest pain and evidence of heart failure or pericardial effusion, reflecting the effect of the tumor mass on cardiac and pericardium anatomy and function.

Classical nodular sclerosis Hodgkin lymphoma presenting with atypical cardiac involvement

We present a child with long-gap esophageal atresia and anastomotic leakage repair with pericardium. This article aimed to illustrate that pericardium may be a substitute for esophageal leakage repair.

Use of pericardium to repair anastomotic leak after esophageal atresia surgery; experience with one case