Pericardial recesses
Last revised by Henry Knipe on 10 Apr 2023
Citation, DOI, disclosures and article data
Citation:
Hacking C, Knipe H, Feger J, et al. Pericardial recesses. Reference article, Radiopaedia.org (Accessed on 30 Nov 2023) https://doi.org/10.53347/rID-54167
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rID:
54167
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Disclosures:
At the time the article was created Craig Hacking had no recorded disclosures.
View Craig Hacking's current disclosuresLast revised:
Disclosures:
At the time the article was last revised Henry Knipe had the following disclosures:
- Integral Diagnostics, Shareholder (ongoing)
- Micro-X Ltd, Shareholder (ongoing)
These were assessed during peer review and were determined to not be relevant to the changes that were made.
View Henry Knipe's current disclosuresRevisions:
9 times, by 6 contributors - see full revision history and disclosures
Systems:
Sections:
Synonyms:
- Pericardial recess
The pericardial recesses are small spaces in the pericardial cavity formed by reflections of the pericardium.
Gross anatomy
Pericardial fluid can pool in these recesses and can be categorized by whether they arise from the transverse sinus, the oblique sinus, or the pericardial cavity proper 3:
- aortic recesses: arise from the transverse sinus
- pulmonic recesses: arise from the transverse sinus
- postcaval recess: arises from the pericardial cavity proper
- posterior pericardial recess: arises from the oblique sinus
- pulmonary venous recesses: arise from the pericardial cavity proper
Differential diagnosis
Pooled pericardial fluid can mimic:
- mediastinal lymph nodes: tend to be round/oval and soft tissue attention compared to pericardial recesses, which tend to be crescentic-shaped curving around vascular structures and fluid attenuation in recognized locations 3
- aortic dissection 3
- bronchogenic cyst 3
References
- 1. O'Leary S, Williams P, Williams M et al. Imaging the Pericardium: Appearances on ECG-Gated 64-Detector Row Cardiac Computed Tomography. Br J Radiol. 2010;83(987):194-205. doi:10.1259/bjr/55699491 - Pubmed
- 2. Oyama N, Oyama N, Komuro K, Nambu T, Manning W, Miyasaka K. Computed Tomography and Magnetic Resonance Imaging of the Pericardium: Anatomy and Pathology. Magn Reson Med Sci. 2004;3(3):145-52. doi:10.2463/mrms.3.145 - Pubmed
- 3. Broderick L, Brooks G, Kuhlman J. Anatomic Pitfalls of the Heart and Pericardium. Radiographics. 2005;25(2):441-53. doi:10.1148/rg.252045075 - Pubmed
- 4. Truong M, Erasmus J, Gladish G et al. Anatomy of Pericardial Recesses on Multidetector CT: Implications for Oncologic Imaging. AJR Am J Roentgenol. 2003;181(4):1109-13. doi:10.2214/ajr.181.4.1811109 - Pubmed
- 5. Salamonsen M, López-Lisbona R, Cubero N, Martinez F, Rosell A. The Posterior Pericardial Recess: Potential for Confusion at Endobronchial Ultrasound. J Bronchology Interv Pulmonol. 2015;22(3):263-6. doi:10.1097/LBR.0000000000000166 - Pubmed
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