A PATIENT with a pericardial effusion may frequently present a diagnostic problem. A primary malignancy of the heart or pericardium is one of the rare causes of such an effusion. Lymburner1 at the Mayo Clinic reported an incidence of .05 per cent in 8,500 consecutive autopsies. Mesotheliomas compose only a small percentage of the primary tumors of the heart and pericardium. Dawe, Wood, and Mitc...

We report four cases in which a pericardium (Tutoplast) plug was used to repair a corneoscleral fistula after Ahmed Glaucoma Valve (AGV) explantation. In four cases in which the AGV tube had been exposed, AGV explantation was performed using a pericardium (Tutoplast) plug to seal the defect previously occupied by the tube. After debridement of the fistula, a piece of processed pericardium (Tuto...

BACKGROUND Electroacupuncture (EA) is a traditional Chinese medicine treatment guided by meridian theory. As it gradually gains more worldwide acceptance, a clarification of its mechanisms is extremely urgent. We observed variations in transcutaneous oxygen pressure/carbon dioxide pressure (tcpO2/tcpCO2) and microcirculation blood perfusion units (BPU) along the pericardium meridian, and cardia...

More work needs to be done on the extent to which the pericardium can modulate the cardiovascular response to exercise and the mechanisms whereby this modulation is brought about. Studies are needed to differentiate the effects of the pericardium on the cardiovascular exercise response, comparing trained with untrained subjects. Evidence is accumulating that exercise training in patients with h...

The influence of the pericardium on cardiovascular phenomena has been examined and evaluated in the light of both ventricular function (modified Starling) curves and pressure-volume relationship of the pericardium. When the left ventricle is stressed, as by an increased aortic resistance, it dilates. The resulting pericardial tension limits right ventricular diastolic expansion and right ventri...

Pericardial-diaphragmatic rupture is a rare condition which occurs after blunt trauma and involves the herniation of abdominal organs into the pericardium. A 77-year-old female patient presenting with complaints of palpitation and difficulty in breathing was admitted to the emergency room. Left lateral thoracotomy revealed the herniation of abdominal organs into the thorax. A pericardial-diaphr...

Congenital absence of the pericardium is a rare abnormality that can be diagnosed by cardiac imaging procedures. A 49-year-old male needed medical attention due to the appearance of palpitation with a systolic murmur, and a notable aortic arch deviation was seen in the chest X-ray. In the echocardiogram, a poor echo window was detected. A cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) showed a rare c...