Abstract
The pericardium is a fibroserous conical sac structure encompassing the heart and roots of the great cardiac vessels. In humans, it is located within the mediastinal cavity posterior to the sternum and cartilages of the third, fourth, fifth, sixth, and seventh ribs of the left thorax and is separated from the anterior wall of the thorax. It is encompassed from the posterior resting against the bronchi, the esophagus, the descending thoracic aorta, and the posterior regions of the mediastinal surface of each lung. Laterally, the pericardium is covered by the pleurae and lies along the mediastinal surfaces of the lung. It can come in direct contact with the chest wall near the ventricular apical region, but varies with the dimensions of the long axes of the heart or with various disease states. Under normal circumstances, the pericardium separates and isolates the heart from contact of the surrounding tissues, allowing freedom of cardiac movement within the confines of the pericardial space (Fig. 1).
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
References
Angelini, G.D., Fraser, A.G., Koning, M.M., et al. (1990) Adverse hemodynamic effects and echocardiographic consequences of pericardial closure soon after sternotomy and pericardiotomy. Circulation. 82, IV397–IV406.
Reich, D.L., Konstadt, S.N., and Thys, D.M. (1990) The pericardium exerts constraint on the right ventricle during cardiac surgery. Acta Anaesthesiol Scand. 34, 530–533.
Daughters, G.T., Frist, W.H., Alderman, E.L., Derby, G.C., Ingels, N.B., Jr., and Miller, D.C. (1992) Effects of the pericardium on left ventricular diastolic filling and systolic performance early after cardiac operations. J Thorac Cardiovasc Surg. 104, 1084–1091.
Hammond, H.K., White, F.C., Bhargava, V., and Shabetai, R. (1992) Heart size and maximal cardiac output are limited by the pericardium. Am J Physiol. 263, H1675–H1681.
Abel, F.L., Mihailescu, L.S., Lader, A.S., and Starr, R.G. (1995) Effects of pericardial pressure on systemic and coronary hemodynamics in dogs. Am J Physiol. 268, H1593–H1605.
Allard, J.R., Gertz, E.W., Verrier, E.D., Bristow, J.D., and Hoffman, J.I. (1983) Role of the pericardium in the regulation of myocardial blood flow and its distribution in the normal and acutely failing left ventricle of the dog. Cardiovasc Res. 17, 595–603.
Beloucif, S., Takata, M., Shimada, M., and Robotham, J.L. (1992) Influence of pericardial constraint on atrioventricular interactions. Am J Physiol. 263, H125–H134.
Calvin, J.E. (1991) Optimal right ventricular filling pressures and the role of pericardial constraint in right ventricular infarction in dogs. Circulation. 84, 852–861.
Hess, O.M., Bhargava, V., Ross, J., Jr., and Shabetai, R. (1983) The role of the pericardium in interactions between the cardiac chambers. Am Heart J. 106, 1377–1383.
Janicki, J.S. and Weber, K.T. (1980) The pericardium and ventricular interaction, distensibility, and function. Am J Physiol. 238, H494–H503.
Shabetai, R., Mangiardi, L., Bhargava, V., Ross, J., Jr., and Higgins, C.B. (1979) The pericardium and cardiac function. Prog Cardiovasc Dis. 22, 107–134.
Belenkie, I., Dani, R., Smith, E.R., and Tyberg, J.V. (1992) The importance of pericardial constraint in experimental pulmonary embolism and volume loading. Am Heart J. 123, 733–742
Watkins, M.W. and LeWinter, M.M. (1993) Physiologic role of the normal pericardium. Ann Rev Med. 44, 171–180.
Janicki, J.S. (1990) Influence of the pericardium and ventricular interdependence on left ventricular diastolic and systolic function in patients with heart failure. Circulation. 81, III15–III20.
Weber, K.T., Janicki, J.S., Shroff, S., and Fishman, A.P. (1981) Contractile mechanics and interaction of the right and left ventricles. Am J Cardiol. 47, 686–695.
Kingma, I., Smiseth, O.A., Frais, M.A., Smith, E.R., and Tyberg, J.V. (1987) Left ventricular external constraint: relationship between pericardial, pleural and esophageal pressures during positive end-expiratory pressure and volume loading in dogs. Ann Biomed Eng. 15, 331–346.
Burkhoff, D., de Tombe, P.P., Hunter, W.C., and Kass, D.A. (1991) Contractile strength and mechanical efficiency of left ventricle are enhanced by physiological afterlod. Am J Physiol. 260, H569–H578.
Burger, W., Straube, M., Behne, M., et al. (1995) Role of pericardial constraint for right ventricular function in humans. Chest. 107, 46–49.
Riddervold, F., Smiseth, O.A., and Myhre, E.S. (1992) Effect of the pericardium on atrial systolic function. J Appl Physiol. 73, 1360–1365.
Morris, A.L., Rabkin, S.W., Ayotte, B., and Sharma, G.P. (1981) Role of the pericardium and intact chest wall in the hemodynamic response to positive end-expiratory pressure ventilation. Can J Physiol Pharmacol. 59, 45–52.
Shabetai, R. (1988) Pericardial and cardiac pressure. Circulation. 77, 1–5.
Chinchoy, E., Soule, C.S., Houlton, A.J., et al. (2000) Isolated four-chamber working swine heart model. Ann Thorac Surg. 70, 1607–1614.
Mangano, D.T., Van Dyke, D.C., Hickey, R.F., and Ellis, R.J. (1985) Significance of the pericardium in human subjects: effects on left ventricular volume, pressure and ejection. J Am Coll Cardiol. 6, 290–295.
Mangano, D.T. (1980) The effect of the pericardium on ventricular systolic function in man. Circulation. 61, 352–357.
Getty, R. (1975) General heart and blood vessels, in Sisson and Grossman’s The Anatomy of the Domestic Animals, 5th Ed. (Getty, R., ed.), Saunders, Philadelphia, PA, pp. 164–175.
Michaëlsson, M. and Ho, S.Y. (eds.). (2000) Congenital Heart Malformations in Mammals: An Illustrated Text. Imperial College Press, River Edge, NJ.
Holt, J.P. (1970) The normal pericardium. Am J Cardiol. 26, 455–465.
Naimark, W.A., Lee, J.M., Limeback, H., and Cheung, D.T. (1992) Correlation of structure and viscoelastic properties in the pericardia of four mammalian species. Am J Physiol. 263, H1095–H1106.
Elias, H. and Boyd, L. (1960) Notes on the anatomy, embryology and histology of the pericardium. J New York Med Coll. 2, 50–75.
Spodick, D.H. (ed.) (1997) The Pericardium: A Comprehensive Textbook. Dekker, New York, NY.
Spodick, D.H. (1997) Pericardial effusion and hydropericardium without tamponade, in The Pericardium: A Comprehensive Textbook. (Spodick, D.H., ed.), Dekker, New York, NY, pp. 126–132.
March, K.L. (1996) Methods of local gene delivery to vascular tissue. Semin Interven Cardiol. 1, 215–223.
Laham, R.J., Rezaee, M., Post, M., Xu, X., and Sellke, F.W. (2003) Intrapericardial administration of basic fibroblast growth factor: myocardial and tissue distribution and comparison with intracoronary and intravenous administration. Catheter Cardiovasc Interv. 58, 375–381.
Lazarous, D.F., Shou, M., Stiber, J.A., et al. (1997) Pharmacodynamics of basic fibroblast growth factor: route of administration determines myocardial and systemic distribution. Cardiovasc Res. 36, 78–85.
Tio, R.A., Grandjean, J.G., Suurmeijer, A.J., van Gilst, W.H., van Veldhuisen, D.J., and van Boven, A.J. (2002) Thoracoscopic monitoring for pericardial application of local drug or gene therapy. Int J Cardiol. 82, 117–121.
Laham, R.J. and Hung, D. (1999) Therapeutic myocardial angiogenesis using percutaneous intrapericardial drug delivery. Clin Cardiol. 22, 16–19.
Landau, C., Jacobs, A.K., and Haudenschild, C.C. (1995) Intrapericardial basic fibroblast growth factor induces myocardial angiogenesis in a rabbit model of chronic ischemia. Am Heart J. 129, 924–931.
Choe, Y.H., Im, J.G., Park, J.H., Han, M.C., and Kim, C.W. (1987) The anatomy of the pericardial space: a study in cadavers and patients. AJR Am J Roentgenol. 149, 693–697.
Lerner-Tung, M.B., Chang, A.Y., Ong, L.S., and Kreiser, D. (1997) Pharmacokinetics of intrapericardial administration of 5-fluorouracil. Cancer Chemother Pharmacol. 40, 318–320.
Stoll, H.P., Carlson, K., Keefer, L.K., Hrabie, J.A., and March, K.L. (1999) Pharmacokinetics and consistency of pericardial delivery directed to coronary arteries: direct comparison with endoluminal delivery. Clin Cardiol. 22, I10–I16.
Ujhelyi, M., Hadsell, K., Euler, D., and Mehra, R. (2002) Intrapericardial therapeutics: a pharmacodynamic and pharmacokinetic comparison between pericardial and intravenous procainamide. J Cardiovasc Electrophysiol. 13, 605–611.
Hollenberg, M. and Dougherty, J. (1969) Lymph flow and 131-I-albumin resorption from pericardial effusions in man. Am J Cardiol. 24, 514–522.
Szokodi, I., Horkay, F., Kiss, P., et al. (1997) Characterization and stimuli for production of pericardial fluid atrial natriuretic peptide in dogs. Life Sci. 61, 1349–1359.
Nolan, P.E. (1997) Pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of intravenous agents for ventricular arrhythmias. Pharmacotherapy. 17, 65S–75S; discussion 89S–91S.
Ayers, G.M., Rho, T.H., Ben-David, J., Besch, H.R., Jr., and Zipes, D.P. (1996) Amiodarone instilled into the canine pericardial sac migrates transmurally to produce electrophysiologic effects and suppress atrial fibrillation. J Cardiovasc Electrophysiol. 7, 713–721.
Baek, S.H., Hrabie, J.A., Keefer, L.K., et al. (2002) Augmentation of intrapericardial nitric oxide level by a prolonged-release nitric oxide donor reduces luminal narrowing after porcine coronary angioplasty. Circulation. 105, 2779–2784.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2005 Humana Press Inc., Totowa, NJ
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Chinchoy, E., Ujhelyi, M.R., Hill, A.J., Skadsberg, N.D., Iaizzo, P.A. (2005). The Pericardium. In: Iaizzo, P.A. (eds) Handbook of Cardiac Anatomy, Physiology, and Devices. Humana Press. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-59259-835-9_7
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-59259-835-9_7
Publisher Name: Humana Press
Print ISBN: 978-1-58829-443-2
Online ISBN: 978-1-59259-835-9
eBook Packages: MedicineMedicine (R0)