Anatomy

Pericardium

A conical fibro-serous sac surrounding the HEART and the roots of the great vessels (AORTA; VENAE CAVAE; PULMONARY ARTERY). Pericardium consists of two sacs: the outer fibrous pericardium and the inner serous pericardium. The latter consists of an outer parietal layer facing the fibrous pericardium, and an inner visceral layer (epicardium) resting next to the heart, and a pericardial cavity between these two layers.

National Library of MedicineMedical Subject Headings2026

Structured Summary

Abstract

A conical fibro-serous sac surrounding the HEART and the roots of the great vessels (AORTA; VENAE CAVAE; PULMONARY ARTERY). Pericardium consists of two sacs: the outer fibrous pericardium and the inner serous pericardium. The latter consists of an outer parietal layer facing the fibrous pericardium, and an inner visceral layer (epicardium) resting next to the heart, and a pericardial cavity between these two layers.

MeSH Record

Classification

Broader headings

Narrower headings

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MeSH Record

See Also

MeSH Record

Synonyms

20 entry terms
  • Epicardium
  • Fibrous Pericardium
  • Parietal Pericardium
  • Pericardial Cavity
  • Pericardial Space
  • Serous Pericardium
  • Visceral Pericardium
  • Cavities, Pericardial
  • Cavity, Pericardial
  • Pericardial Cavities
  • Pericardial Spaces
  • Pericardium, Fibrous
  • Pericardium, Parietal
  • Pericardium, Serous
  • Pericardium, Visceral
  • Pericardiums, Fibrous
  • Pericardiums, Serous
  • Serous Pericardiums
  • Space, Pericardial
  • Spaces, Pericardial

MeSH Record

Aspects Covered

23 allowable subheadings

Indexed with the subheadings abnormalities, anatomy & histology, chemistry, cytology, diagnostic imaging, drug effects, embryology, enzymology, growth & development, immunology, injuries, innervation, metabolism, microbiology, parasitology, pathology, physiology, physiopathology, radiation effects, surgery, transplantation, ultrastructure, virology.

MeSH Record

Indexing Annotation

inflammation = PERICARDITIS or its specifics; simple mediastinal cyst adjacent to pericardium = MEDIASTINAL CYST (do not coordinate with PERICARDIUM)

MeSH Hierarchy

Tree Numbers

  1. A07w.541w.795w
  2. A10w.615w.789w.470w

MeSH Record

NLM Classification

WG 275

AMA Style

References

  1. National Library of Medicine. Pericardium. Medical Subject Headings (MeSH). 2026. Unique ID D010496. http://id.nlm.nih.gov/mesh/2026/D010496
  2. Pericardium. In: Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pericardium
  3. Pericardium. In: Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q193302