BACKGROUND Bovine pericardium is one of the most widely used materials in bioprosthetic heart valves. Immunologic responses have been implicated as potential causes of limited durability of xenogenic valves. This study aimed to determine the effectiveness of decellularization and α-galactosidase (α-gal) to remove major xenoreactive antigens from xenogenic tissues. MATERIALS AND METHODS Recomb...

During pulmonary artery constriction (PAC), an experimental model of acute right ventricular (RV) pressure overload, the interventricular septum flattens and inverts. Finite element (FE) analysis has shown that the septum is subject to axial compression and bending when so deformed. This study examines the effects of acute PAC on the left ventricular (LV) free wall and the role the pericardium ...

This paper describes a pericardial fold that has not yet been mentioned in the Anatomy or Surgery literature.The "Zamvar" pericardial fold is formed by the parietal pericardium and the overlying fibrous pericardium folding back onto themselves over the left-sided pulmonary veins; it is 1 to 3 mm wide, and runs from the inferior edge of the left inferior pulmonary vein, to the superior edge of t...

Pericardial defects are a rare disorder that can be characterized as acquired or congenital. Congenital defects can be further characterized by location and size of the defect, e.g. left- or right-sided and partial or complete absence of the pericardium. While physical examination and electrocardiogram are not diagnostic, chest radiographs and echocardiography have findings that should alert th...

Thymomas are usually found in the anterior mediastinum, the normal location of the thymus. Involvement of the pericardium by thymic tumors is seen in invasive or metastasized thymoma. Very rarely, thymomas arise primarily in the pericardium. These tumors are believed to derive from thymic tissue which was misplaced in the pericardium during embryologic development. In contrast to patients with ...

PURPOSE This paper is the first, to our knowledge, to propose the use of a bovine pericardium graft in corporoplasty for penile prosthesis implantation. The advantages of bovine pericardium graft have been demonstrated by its use in cardiac surgery, including low cost, biocompatibility, impermeability, resistance to dilatation, flexibility, low likelihood of retraction, absence of antigenic rea...

FIGURE 1: Significant features include leftward displacement of the heart without tracheal deviation. In addition, three distinct convexities are noted along the left border of the heart. These are the aortic knob, pulmonary artery segment and the left ventricular contour. T HE RECOGNITION AND DEFINITIVE DIAGnosis of absent pericardium has gained impetus within recent years. Although well descr...

Recent findings indicate a strong correlation between the risk of future heart disease and the volume of adipose tissue inside of the pericardium. So far, large-scale studies have been hindered by the fact that manual delineation of the pericardium is extremely time-consuming and that existing methods for automatic delineation lack accuracy. An efficient and fully automatic approach to pericard...