In the intact animal, it is difficult to discriminate between the independent effects of series and direct ventricular interaction (DI) or the individual contributions of the pericardium and septum to DI. Left ventricular (LV) venous return (LVVR) and right ventricular (RV) end-diastolic pressure (RVEDP) were varied independently in a right-heart bypass model. LV minor-axis diameters were measu...

OBJECTIVE This study was to evaluate the efficacy of the hyaluronic acid (HA) bioabsorbable membrane combined use with both expanded-polytetrafluoroethylene (ePTFE) and autologous pericardium for preventing postoperative pericardial adhesions. METHODS The HA bioresorbable surgical membrane (Seprafilm, Genzyme, Cambridge, Mass) was used with either ePTFE or autologous pericardium in an experim...

Calcification is a frequent cause of the clinical failure of bioprosthetic heart valves fabricated from glutaraldehyde pretreated bovine pericardium (GATBP). An investigation was made of the grafting of different molecular weight polyethylene glycol (PEG 600, 1500, 4000 and 6000) via glutaraldehyde (GA) linkages to bovine pericardium (BP) and of their stability and calcification. The process of...

Parietal pericardial lymphatics were visualized by indirect and direct India ink injections in 35 human cadavers. Studies included examination of cleared specimens under the dissecting microscope and standard light microscopy. The lymphatic vessels of the ventral pericardial surface most often pass along the phrenic nerves cranially to terminate in the anterior right and left and transverse med...

BACKGROUND Previous studies have reported an important role for right ventricular function in the pathophysiology of the low cardiac output state that can accompany right ventricular infarction. Some studies have suggested that right ventricular distensibility impairs right ventricular filling and stroke output; others have demonstrated that the pericardium can mediate depressed left ventricula...

  Objective: Different techniques have been suggested for the repair of bone defects at the injured sites. Use of biomembranes, or application of plasma rich in growth factor (PRGF) at the site of proliferation of osteoblasts are among the suggested techniques. The current study aimed to compare the biocompatibility of human periodontal ligament fibroblasts (hPLF) cultured on Hypro-Sorb F, Peri...

Partial defect of the pericardium combined with bronchogenic cyst is a very rare congenital anomaly. We describe the case of a 32-year-old man with a partial defect of the left pericardium and a bronchogenic cyst arising from the border of the pericardial defect. The cyst was successfully resected with the harmonic scalpel by three-port videothoracoscopic approach.

Congenital absence of the pericardium is a rare cardiac defect with variable clinical presentations and is usually discovered incidentally. The pathology may lead to serious complications such as incarceration of cardiac tissue, myocardial ischemia, aortic dissection or valvular insufficiency. Diagnosis is not difficult so long as some tips are remembered. We present the cases of two patients w...

A 30 year old man presented with symptoms of constrictive pericarditis. Echocardiography and computed tomography showed a mass extending from the pericardium to surround the heart and penetrating the left ventricular apex. An unresectable pleomorphic liposarcoma arising from the pericardium was found at thoracotomy.

The clinical histories of two patients with angiosarcoma of the pericardium are described. Both were previously well young men who presented with cardiac tamponade caused by haemorrhagic pericardial effusions. If a pericardiectomy is undertaken for diagnosis, wide excision of the pericardium is recommended. This will provide a large specimen for histological examination and may prevent subseque...