This MedLibrary.org supplementary page on Serous pericardium is provided directly from the open source Wikipedia as a service to our readers. Please see the note below on authorship of this content, as well as the Wikipedia usage guidelines. To search for other content from our encyclopedia supplement, please use the form below:
Related Sponsors
| Serous pericardium | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| A transverse section of the thorax, showing the contents of the middle and the posterior mediastinum. The pleural and pericardial cavities are exaggerated since normally there is no space between parietal and visceral pleura and between pericardium and heart. | |
| Latin | pericardium serosum |
| Dorlands/Elsevier | p_12/12626540 |
The serous pericardium is deeper than the fibrous pericardium. It contains two layers, both of which function in lubricating the heart to prevent friction from occurring during heart activity:
- The layer adherent to the fibrous pericardium is the parietal layer.
- The layer deep to the fibrous pericardium is the visceral layer.[1] When this layer comes into contact with the heart (not the great vessels), it is known as the epicardium.
Together these two layers form a continuous uninterrupted membrane. Between these two layers exists a small cavity called the pericardial cavity, which contains a supply of serous fluid. The serous fluid that is found in this space is known as the pericardial fluid.
References
External links
- Norman/Georgetown thoraxlesson4 (heartpericardium)
- Atlas of anatomy at UMich ht_pericard1 - "Chest X-ray showing pericardium, posteroanterior view"
- Atlas of anatomy at UMich ht_pericard2 - "MRI of chest, lateral view"
|
||||||||||||||||||||
Wikipedia content modification information:
- This page was last modified on 22 May 2008, at 23:30.
Wikipedia Authorship and Review
Wikipedia content provided here is not reviewed directly by MedLibrary.org. Wikipedia content is authored by an open community of volunteers and is not produced by or in any way affiliated with MedLibrary.org.
Wikipedia Usage Guidelines
This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article on "Serous pericardium".
The URL for this specific entry is:
All Wikipedia text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License. (See Copyrights for details). Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc.