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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 ).
The heart wall is a three-layered structure with a thick layer of myocardium sandwiched between the inner endocardium and the outer epicardium (also known as the visceral pericardium). The inner endocardium lines the cardiac chambers, covers the cardiac valves , and joins with the endothelium that lines the blood vessels that connect to the heart.
A serous membrane lines the pericardial cavity of the heart, and reflects back to cover the heart, much like an under-inflated balloon would form two layers surrounding a fist. Called the pericardium, this serous membrane is a two-layered sac that surrounds the entire heart except where blood vessels emerge on the heart's superior side; [4]
The endocardium, by secreting endothelins, may also play a role in regulating the contraction of the myocardium. [8] The swirling pattern of myocardium helps the heart pump effectively. The middle layer of the heart wall is the myocardium, which is the cardiac muscle—a layer of involuntary striated muscle tissue surrounded by a framework of ...
The pleural and pericardial cavities are exaggerated since normally there is no space between parietal and visceral pleura and between pericardium and heart. Pericardial fluid is the serous fluid secreted by the serous layer of the pericardium into the pericardial cavity. The pericardium consists of two layers, an outer fibrous layer and the ...
The endocardium underlies the much more voluminous myocardium, the muscular tissue responsible for the contraction of the heart. The outer layer of the heart is termed epicardium and the heart is surrounded by a small amount of fluid enclosed by a fibrous sac called the pericardium. [2]
In cardiology, the cardiac skeleton, also known as the fibrous skeleton of the heart, is a high-density homogeneous structure of connective tissue that forms and anchors the valves of the heart, and influences the forces exerted by and through them.
Trabeculae lie at the interface between intracardiac flow and the compact myocardium. Their fractal branching pattern helps to maintain cardiac performance in both healthy and failing hearts by increasing contractility and stroke work. [3]