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Pericardium
Double-walled sac containing the heart and roots of the great vessels / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
For the Traditional Chinese medicine description, see Pericardium (Chinese medicine).
"Pericard" redirects here. For the footballer, see Vincent Pericard.
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.
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Quick Facts Details, Location ...
Pericardium | |
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![]() 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 |
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The English name originates from the Ancient Greek prefix peri- (περί) 'around' and the suffix -cardion (κάρδιον) 'heart'.