Pericardium

You don't need to be Editor-In-Chief to add or edit content to WikiDoc. You can begin to add to or edit text on this WikiDoc page by clicking on the edit button at the top of this page. Next enter or edit the information that you would like to appear here. Once you are done editing, scroll down and click the Save page button at the bottom of the page.

Pericardium
Posterior wall of the pericardial sac, showing the lines of reflection of the serous pericardium on the great vessels.
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

Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1] Phone:617-525-6884

Please Take Over This Page and Apply to be Editor-In-Chief for this topic: There can be one or more than one Editor-In-Chief. You may also apply to be an Associate Editor-In-Chief of one of the subtopics below. Please mail us [2] to indicate your interest in serving either as an Editor-In-Chief of the entire topic or as an Associate Editor-In-Chief for a subtopic. Please be sure to attach your CV and or biographical sketch.

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

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)

v • d • e Anatomy of torso, cardiovascular system: heart
Structures	atria (interatrial septum, musculi pectinati) • ventricles (interventricular septum, trabeculae carneae, chordae tendinae, papillary muscle) • valves • cusps
Regions	base • apex • grooves (coronary/atrioventricular, interatrial, anterior interventricula, posterior interventricular) • surfaces (sternocostal, diaphragmatic) • borders (right, left)
Right heart	(vena cavae, coronary sinus) → right atrium (auricle, fossa ovalis, limbus of fossa ovalis, crista terminalis, valve of the inferior vena cava, valve of the coronary sinus) → tricuspid valve → right ventricle (conus arteriosus, moderator band/septomarginal trabecula)  → pulmonary valve → (pulmonary artery and pulmonary circulation)
Left heart	(pulmonary veins) → left atrium (auricle) → mitral valve → left ventricle → aortic valve (aortic sinus) → (aorta and systemic circulation)
Layers	pericardium: fibrous pericardium • serous pericardium (pericardial cavity, epicardium/visceral layer) • pericardial sinus myocardium • endocardium • cardiac skeleton (fibrous trigone, fibrous rings)
Conduction system	Cardiac pacemaker • SA node • AV node• bundle of His • Purkinje fibers

de:Herzbeutelfr:Péricarde

it:Pericardio ja:心膜 la:Pericardium ms:Perikardium nl:Pericard nn:Hjarteposefi:Perikardium

WikiDoc Help Menu Quick Start.. Get Started Here! How to Login How to Search Pages How to Start a New Page How to Edit a Page Cheat Sheet Editing basics Learning Basic Formatting How to make Links in WikiDoc & to External Sites How to Make Lists How to Ignoring Formatting Adding References or Footnotes to Articles Tracking Changes You Have Made How to Put an Article Into a Category When Multiple Topics Should Go To The Same Page (MI, Acute MI, AMI) Using Redirection Advanced editing How to Make Tables How to Insert Images and Other Media How to Add Video Help:How to Make Columns Web Colors How To Make Templates How to Move Pages Inserting Dynamic Dates and Times Inserting WikiDoc Statistics Editing the Table of Contents Communicating your edits Let others know what you changed: The importance of Edit Summaries Minor Edits Edit Conflicts Help Videos You Can Watch Getting Started Video

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 .