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| Pericardium | |
|---|---|
 Walls of the heart, showing pericardium at right. | |
 Cutaway illustration of pericardial sac | |
| Details | |
| Location | A sac around the heart |
| Artery | Pericardiacophrenic artery |
| Nerve | Phrenic nerve |
| Identifiers | |
| Latin | pericardium |
| Greek | περίκάρδιον |
| MeSH | D010496 |
| TA98 | A12.1.08.001 A12.1.08.002 A12.1.08.005 |
| TA2 | 3341 |
| FMA | 9869 |
| Anatomical terminology | |
The pericardium (pl.: pericardia), also called pericardial sac, is a double-walled sac containing the heart and the roots of the great vessels.[1] It has two layers, an outer layer made of strong inelastic connective tissue (fibrous pericardium), and an inner layer made of serous membrane (serous pericardium).[2][3] It encloses the pericardial cavity, which contains pericardial fluid,[2] and defines the middle mediastinum. It separates the heart from interference of other structures, protects it against infection and blunt trauma, and lubricates the heart's movements.
The English name originates from the Ancient Greek prefix peri- (περί) 'around' and the suffix -cardion (κάρδιον) 'heart'.
- ^ "Pericardiectomy". Johns Hopkins Medicine. 19 November 2019. Retrieved 20 Sep 2020.
- ^ a b Hegde, Sheila M. (2019-01-01), Solomon, Scott D.; Wu, Justina C.; Gillam, Linda D. (eds.), "33 - Pericardial Disease", Essential Echocardiography, Elsevier, pp. 347–353.e1, doi:10.1016/b978-0-323-39226-6.00033-3, ISBN 978-0-323-39226-6, retrieved 2020-11-17
- ^ Mou, Steven S.; McCrory, Michael C. (2019-01-01), Ungerleider, Ross M.; Meliones, Jon N.; Nelson McMillan, Kristen; Cooper, David S. (eds.), "28 - Inflammatory Heart Disease: Pericardial Effusion and Tamponade, Pericarditis, and Myocarditis", Critical Heart Disease in Infants and Children (Third Edition), Philadelphia: Elsevier, pp. 351–364.e5, doi:10.1016/b978-1-4557-0760-7.00028-0, ISBN 978-1-4557-0760-7, S2CID 80814860, retrieved 2020-11-17