Pericardium
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| Pericardium | |
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| Posterior wall of the pericardial sac, showing the lines of reflection of the serous pericardium on the great vessels. | |
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| A transverse section of the thorax, showing the contents of the middle and the posterior mediastinum. The pleural and pericardial cavities are exaggerated since normally there is no space between parietal and visceral pleura and between pericardium and heart Paricardium is also known as cariac epidemis. | |
| Gray's | subject #137 524 |
| Artery | pericardiacophrenic artery |
| MeSH | Pericardium |
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Overview
The pericardium is a double-walled sac that contains the heart and the roots of the great vessels.
Layers
There are two layers to the pericardial sac: the fibrous pericardium and the serous pericardium. The serous pericardium, in turn, is divided into two layers, the parietal pericardium, which is fused to and inseparable from the fibrous pericardium, and the visceral pericardium, which is in fact epicardium, or the outer surface of the heart.
In between the parietal and visceral pericardial layers there is a potential space called the pericardial cavity. It is normally lubricated by a film of pericardial fluid. Too much fluid in the cavity (such as in a pericardial effusion) can result in pericardial tamponade, compression of the heart within the pericardial sac.
Diseases/Abnormalities
- Pericarditis resulting in pericardial friction rub
- Pericardial effusion which may lead to cardiac tamponade.
Pericardial Sinuses
There are two small chambers or sinuses are located where the visceral and parietal pericardia are continuous with one another within the pericardial cavity.
The pericardial sinuses are:
- Oblique pericardial sinus
- Transverse pericardial sinus
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Additional images
 The phrenic nerve and its relations with the vagus nerve. |
 Thoracic portion of the sympathetic trunk. |
 Liver with the septum transversum. Human embryo 3 mm. long. |
 The thymus of a full-time fetus, exposed in situ. |
External links
- SUNY Labs 21:st-1500 - "Mediastinum: Pericardium (pericardial sac)"
- Norman/Georgetown thoraxlesson4 (heartpericardium)
ms:Perikardium nl:Pericard nn:Hjarteposefi:Perikardium
Acknowledgement and Attribution Regarding Sources of Content
Some of the initial content on this page may be incorporated in part from copyleft sources in the public domain including wikis such as Wikipedia and AskDrWiki. Drug information for patients came from the The National Library of Medicine. Infectious disease information may have come from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC). Differential Diagnoses are drawn from clinicians as well as an amalgamation of 3 sources: 1.The Disease Database; 2. Kahan, Scott, Smith, Ellen G. In A Page: Signs and Symptoms. Malden, Massachusetts: Blackwell Publishing, 2004:3; 3. Sailer, Christian, Wasner, Susanne. Differential Diagnosis Pocket. Hermosa Beach, CA: Borm Bruckmeir Publishing LLC, 2002:7 .
