Pericardium
| 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 |
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
Additional images
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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 |
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