Articles
Articles are a collaborative effort to provide a single canonical page on all topics relevant to the practice of radiology. As such, articles are written and edited by countless contributing members over a period of time. A global group of dedicated editors oversee accuracy, consulting with expert advisers, and constantly reviewing additions.
656 results found
Article
Lipomatous metaplasia of the myocardium
Lipomatous metaplasia of the myocardium is a phenomenon where there is fat deposition within the myocardium. It is often seen following a myocardial infarction but can also rarely been seen in conditions such as arrhythmogenic right ventricular dysplasia.
Pathology
The exact etiology of lipoma...
Article
Lutembacher syndrome
Lutembacher syndrome refers to the association of an atrial septal defect (ASD) with mitral stenosis. Both the defects can be either congenital or acquired.
History and etymology
It is named after Rene Lutembacher 4.
Article
Lyme disease
Lyme disease, also known as borreliosis, is a condition caused by the bacteria Borrelia burgdorferi, with infection being via the ixodid tick.
Terminology
Controversy around Lyme disease centers on chronic infection with some authors doubting its existence 3. There are some terms that help di...
Article
Major adverse cardiovascular event
Major adverse cardiovascular event (MACE) refers to a combined or composite clinical endpoint that is used for outcome evaluations in clinical trials for cardiovascular research intended as a measure of safety and effectiveness and does not have a specific definition.
In the setting relevant fo...
Article
Major aortopulmonary collateral arteries
Major aortopulmonary collateral arteries (MAPCAs) are persistent tortuous fetal arteries that arise from the descending aorta and supply blood to pulmonary arteries in the lungs usually at the posterior aspect of hilum.
Pathology
Embryologically, the intersegmental arteries regress with the no...
Article
Marfan syndrome
Marfan syndrome is a multisystem connective tissue disease caused by a defect in the protein fibrillin 1, encoded by the FBN1 gene. Cardiovascular involvement with aortic root dilatation and dissection is the most feared complication of the disease.
Epidemiology
The estimated prevalence is aro...
Article
McConnell's sign (echocardiography)
The McConnell's sign describes a regional pattern of acute right ventricular dysfunction on transthoracic echocardiography first observed in a cohort of patients with acute pulmonary thromboembolism. In contrast to the global wall motion abnormalities observed in chronic right ventricular dysfun...
Article
Mediastinitis
Mediastinitis by definition refers to inflammation of the connective tissues and fat within the mediastinum.
In clinical practice; mediastinitis is generally used to refer to acute mediastinitis, resulting from bacterial infection within the mediastinum. This is considered a serious and potent...
Article
Mediastinum (ITMIG classification)
The International Thymic Malignancy Interest Group (ITMIG) classification of mediastinal compartments was developed to reflect a division of the mediastinum based on cross-sectional imaging. It was in part an effort to consolidate prior discrepant classification systems in use by different medic...
Article
Medical devices in the thorax
Medical devices in the thorax are regularly observed by radiologists when reviewing radiographs and CTs.
Extrathoracic devices
tubing, clamps, syringes, scissors, lying on or under the patient
rubber sheets, foam mattresses, clothing, hair braids, nipple piercings, etc. may also be visible
T...
Article
Metabolic syndrome
The metabolic syndrome, also known as syndrome X, is a set of five conditions, which together increase a patient's risk of developing cardiovascular disease 1.
Clinical presentation
There are five central components of metabolic syndrome:
hyperinsulinemia
impaired glucose tolerance
dyslipid...
Article
Metaplasia
Metaplasia is a general pathology term that refers to process when one cell type is replaced by another. It usually occurs in the context of a changed cellular environment to which the new cell type is better adapted 1. Examples include 2-5:
Barrett esophagus: normal squamous epithelium replace...
Article
Middle cardiac vein
The middle cardiac vein or posterior interventricular vein is a vein of the heart which accompanies the posterior interventricular artery. It courses in the posterior interventricular groove and drains directly into the coronary sinus close to it’s termination. It drains the posterior wall of bo...
Article
Milking effect
Milking effect phenomenon is a pathognomonic angiographic finding in myocardial bridging of coronary arteries. Systolic compression of coronary vessels with partial or complete decompression during diastole is described as milking effect. Its significance lies in:
increased risk of thrombus fo...
Article
Miminally invasive direct coronary artery bypass
Minimally invasive direct coronary artery bypass (MIDCAB) is a novel method for bypassing diseased coronary arteries that can replace open coronary artery bypass grafts (CABG) in certain situations, most commonly when bypassing the left anterior descending artery (LAD) with a left internal thora...
Article
Mistletoe sign
The mistletoe sign refers to solid enhancing perivascular masses around the coronary arteries in the presence of idiopathic retroperitoneal fibrosis (Ormond's disease).The presence of the mistletoe sign on cardiac MRI and coronary CT angiography is relatively rare, but it might be a characterist...
Article
Mitraclip device
A MitraClip™ is a device for percutaneous mitral valve repair. It is a percutaneous edge-to-edge attachment system that mimics the surgical procedure. This technique creates a tissue bridge between the anterior and posterior leaflets employing one clip deployed through trans-septal catheterizati...
Article
Mitral annular calcification
Mitral annular calcification (MAC) refers to the deposition of calcium (along with lipid) in the annular fibrosa of the mitral valve.
Epidemiology
Annular calcification is seen in up to 35% of elderly patients. It is common in females over 65 years, in those with myxomatous degeneration of the...
Article
Mitral annular plane systolic excursion
Mitral annular plane systolic excursion (MAPSE) refers to the displacement of the mitral valvular plane in the z-direction and reflects left ventricular longitudinal contraction or shortening, which has been attributed to account for about 60% of the stroke volume 1.
Terminology
Mitral annular...
Article
Mitral valve
The mitral valve (MV) (or bicuspid valve) is one of the four cardiac valves. It is the atrioventricular valve that allows blood to flow from the left atrium to the left ventricle. It opens during diastole and closes during systole. The valve has anterior and posterior leaflets (cusps), the bases...
Article
Mitral valve calcification
Mitral valve calcification can refer to 1
mitral annular calcification (MAC) or
mitral valve leaflet calcification (MVL)
Article
Mitral valve disease
Mitral valve disease mostly comprises two main functional abnormalities, which can occur in isolation or in combination:
mitral regurgitation
mitral stenosis
In addition, other pathologies that affect the mitral valve include:
mitral valve prolapse
mitral annular calcification
mitral valve...
Article
Mitral valve prolapse
Mitral valve prolapse (MVP), also known as Barlow syndrome, is often defined as systolic bowing of the mitral leaflet more than 2 mm beyond the annular plane into the atrium 1. It is a common cause of mitral regurgitation (considered most frequent cause of severe non-ischemic mitral regurgitatio...
Article
Mitral valve regurgitation
Mitral valve regurgitation, also known as mitral valve insufficiency or mitral valve incompetence, is a valvulopathy that describes leaking of the mitral valve during systole that causes blood to flow in the reverse direction from the left ventricle into the left atrium.
Epidemiology
According...
Article
Mitral valve stenosis
Mitral valve stenosis is a valvulopathy that describes narrowing of the opening of the mitral valve between the left ventricle and the left atrium.
Epidemiology
Mitral stenosis is seen more commonly in women and in countries, generally developing nations, where rheumatic fever is common 1.
Cl...
Article
Moderator band
The moderator band, also called the septomarginal trabecula, is a consistent structure in the morphologic right ventricle and can be helpful as a landmark in situations where the ventricles may be ambiguous (i.e. in some forms of congenital heart disease).
The term "septomarginal" is descriptiv...
Article
Moguls of the heart
The 'moguls of the heart' refer to the bulges of the cardiomediastinal contour on frontal chest radiographs. The cardiomediastinal bulges are likened to skiing moguls (bumps of packed snow on a mountainside sculptured by turning skis). Awareness of their usual locations and etiologies is helpful...
Article
MR feature tracking
MR feature tracking refers to an MRI based post-processing method, used on normal cine SFFP sequences for the analysis of myocardial deformation and the determination of myocardial strain parameters.
Methodology
MRI feature tracking is a two-dimensional software algorithm applied on standard c...
Article
MR tagging
Cardiac MR tagging or myocardial tagging refers to a MRI based acquisition method designed for myocardial deformation analysis.
Methodology
The method exploits tissue magnetization as a tissue property. A local magnetic saturation grid of dark lined tissue markers known as tags are induced ont...
Article
Mustard repair
The Mustard repair is a technique to correct transposition of the great arteries (TGA), and involves:
resection of atrial septum
creation of an atrial baffle with a prosthetic material usually. 1,2
Rationale
Transposition of the great arteries involves a discordance between the ventricles a...
Article
Myocardial area at risk
Myocardial area at risk (AAR) is defined by the ischemic proportion of the myocardium after coronary occlusion and reflects the potential size of the myocardial infarction 1-9.
Usage
The assessment of myocardial area at risk is an important measure in the evaluation of the potentially salvagea...
Article
Myocardial bridging of the coronary arteries
Myocardial bridging is a common congenital anomaly of the coronary arteries where a coronary artery courses through the myocardium.
Epidemiology
It is found approximately in 20-30% of the adult population in autopsy studies. The incidence in coronary angiograms is between 2-15% and can be eas...
Article
Myocardial crypts
Myocardial crypts (or myocardial clefts or fissures) refer to discrete clefts or fissures in otherwise compacted myocardium of the left ventricle. They are thought to represent a distinctive morphological expression of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, occurring with different frequency in these pati...
Article
Myocardial fibrosis
Myocardial fibrosis refers to an increase in collagen volume within the extracellular interstitium 1-3.
Clinical presentation
Myocardial fibrosis leads to diastolic and or systolic dysfunction and patients can present with symptoms associated with cardiac insufficiency arrhythmias such as dysp...
Article
Myocardial infarction
Myocardial infarction (MI), colloquially known as a heart attack, an acute coronary syndrome, results from interruption of myocardial blood flow and resultant ischemia and is a leading cause of death worldwide.
Epidemiology
Risk factors
male > females
age
>45 years for males
>55 years for...
Article
Myocardial infarction with non-obstructive coronary arteries
Myocardial infarction with non-obstructive coronary arteries (MINOCA) is referred to as a syndrome characterized by the clinical characteristics of myocardial infarction but with normal coronary arteries or no significant coronary stenosis on coronary angiography.
Epidemiology
The suggested pr...
Article
Myocardial injury
Myocardial injury or myocardial necrosis refers to the cell death of cardiomyocytes and is defined by an elevation of cadiac troponin values. It is not only considered a prerequisite for the diagnosis of myocardial infarction but also an entity in itself and can arise from non-ischemic or non-ca...
Article
Myocardial ischemia
Myocardial ischemia refers to the result of a mismatch in myocardial oxygen supply and demand as a consequence of the cessation of blood flow resulting in reversible injury or myocardial cell death if prolonged associated with a loss of contractile function.
Epidemiology
The total prevalence o...
Article
Myocardial mapping
Myocardial mapping or parametric mapping of the heart is one of various magnetic resonance imaging techniques, which has evolved and been increasingly used in the last decade for non-invasive tissue characterization of the myocardium 1-5. Unlike normal T1-, T2- or T2*- images, parametric mapping...
Article
Myocardial edema
Myocardial edema refers to an increased water content of the myocardium particularly within the extracellular interstitium 1.
Clinical presentation
Myocardial edema often reflects an acute or subacute cardiac event, most often either ischemic or inflammatory and thus can be associated with che...
Article
Myocardial perfusion and viability
Myocardial perfusion and viability assessment is important for many reasons:
to diagnose, locate and grade the severity of coronary artery disease
to identify candidates who would benefit from revascularization
to evaluate response to revascularization
Terminology
Stunned myocardium
Stunne...
Article
Myocardial salvage
Myocardial salvage is referred to as the reversibly injured myocardium in a setting of myocardial ischemia and/or myocardial infarction, which remains non-infarcted after reperfusion 1-7.
Usage
The assessment of myocardial salvage is an important measure in the evaluation of the efficacy of th...
Article
Myocardial scar tissue
Myocardial scar tissue is referred to as the final result and pathological correlate of myocardial infarction and develops from the infarcted tissue.
Terminology
Myocardial scar tissue is the result of replacement fibrosis and is also called non-viable myocardium even though the latter is a mi...
Article
Myocardial viability protocol (MRI)
The MRI myocardial viability protocol encompasses a set of different MRI sequences for the assessment of myocardial viability.
Note: This article aims to frame a general concept of a cardiac MRI protocol in the setting of acute or chronic myocardial infarction.
Protocol specifics will vary de...
Article
Myocarditis
Myocarditis (rare plural: myocarditides) is a general term referring to inflammation of the myocardium.
Clinical presentation
Clinical presentation is variable in severity, ranging from asymptomatic to cardiogenic shock, but it typically is associated with other viral symptoms, including feve...
Article
Myocarditis protocol (MRI)
The MRI myocarditis protocol encompasses a set of different MRI sequences for the cardiac assessment in case of suspected myocardial inflammation.
Note: This article aims to frame a general concept of a cardiac MRI protocol in the above setting.
Protocol specifics will vary depending on addit...
Article
Myocardium
The myocardium defines the middle layer of the cardiac wall between the endocardium and the pericardium and forms the muscular part of the heart.
Gross anatomy
The myocardium represents the middle layer of the cardiac wall. It is located between the endocardium and the epicardial layer of the ...
Article
Napkin ring sign (disambiguation)
The napkin ring sign may refer to either of the following imaging findings:
napkin ring sign (colon): colonic stenosis such as due to colon cancer
napkin ring sign (coronary): coronary artery vulnerable plaque
A napkin ring is a decorative household item used in some Western societies to hold...
Article
Napkin-ring sign (heart)
The napkin-ring sign is a feature of high-risk coronary artery atherosclerotic plaque on CT coronary angiogram (coronary CTA). It has been shown to possess a high predictive value in predicting future cardiac events and is considered one of the imaging correlates of an unstable plaque.
It is n...
Article
Neoplastic pericardial disease
Neoplastic pericardial disease, neoplastic pericardial involvement or neoplastic pericarditis refers to a pericardial infiltration by tumor cells usually associated with a variably sized pericardial effusion and is a form of non-infectious pericarditis. It needs to be differentiated from other c...
Article
Nonbacterial thrombotic endocarditis
Nonbacterial thrombotic endocarditis (NBTE), also referred as marantic endocarditis, refers to fibrin and platelets aggregations on previously undamaged heart valves, in patients without bacteremia. The condition is seen in patients with advanced stage malignancies and is related to episodes of ...
Article
Non-cardiogenic pulmonary edema
Non-cardiogenic pulmonary edema is a classification of pulmonary edema where the underlying etiology is not due to left ventricular dysfunction. Causes include:
fluid overload
pulmonary edema with acute asthma
post-obstructive pulmonary edema/postintubation pulmonary edema/negative pressure ...
Article
Non-compaction of the left ventricle
Non-compaction of the left ventricle, also known as spongiform cardiomyopathy or left ventricular non-compaction (LVNC) is a phenotype of hypertrophic ventricular trabeculations and deep interventricular recesses. It has been hypothesized to result from arrest of normal myocardial compaction dur...
Article
Normal chest imaging examples
This article lists examples of normal imaging of the chest and surrounding structures, divided by modality.
Plain radiographs
Adult examples
chest radiograph
PA adult male
example 1
example 2: with inverted windows
example 3
PA adult female
example 1
example 2
example 3: with labels
...
Article
Normal contours of the cardiomediastinum on chest radiography
A detailed understanding of the structures that make up the normal contours of the heart and mediastinum (cardiomediastinal contour) on chest radiography is essential if abnormalities are to be detected.
Frontal view (PA/AP)
Right cardiomediastinal contour
From superior to inferior:
right p...
Article
Normal pulmonary venous Doppler
Normal pulmonary venous blood flow in the pulmonary veins may be investigated during echocardiography with spectral Doppler analysis. Perturbations in the normal pulmonary venous waveform may indicate the presence of diastolic dysfunction and elevated filling pressures in the left atrium and ven...
Article
Norwood procedure
The Norwood procedure is a palliative procedure that is the first of three stages in the surgical treatment of hypoplastic left heart syndrome.
The procedure consists of three components:
constructing a neo-aorta by side-to-side anastomosis of the main pulmonary artery and ascending aorta, suc...
Article
Oblique pericardial sinus
The oblique pericardial sinus is a blind-ending pericardial cul-de-sac behind the heart which opens into the pericardial space proper inferiorly.
Gross anatomy
Its boundaries are:
right (in ascending order): inferior vena cava, right inferior pulmonary vein and right superior pulmonary vein
...
Article
Obtuse marginal artery
The obtuse marginal (OM) arteries sometimes referred to as lateral branches are branch coronary arteries that come off the circumflex artery. There can be one or more obtuse marginal arteries. It typically traverses along the left margin of heart towards the apex. The first obtuse marginal arter...
Article
Ortner syndrome
Ortner syndrome, also known as cardiovocal syndrome, is characterized by hoarse voice resulting from left recurrent laryngeal nerve palsy secondary to a cardiovascular disorder.
Pathology
Left recurrent laryngeal nerve palsy in this condition is due to traction or compression of the nerve betw...
Article
Overall visual assessment of coronary artery calcification
Overall visual assessment of coronary artery calcification is a simple scoring system for risk assessment of coronary heart disease mortality by an overall "gestalt" of none, mild, moderate or heavy coronary artery calcification. It is comparable to the Agatston score but has the advantage of be...
Article
Pediatric cardiovascular procedures
A number of pediatric cardiovascular procedures are encountered when reporting pediatric imaging. They include:
Blalock-Taussig (BT) shunt
classic: end to side subclavian to ipsilateral pulmonary arterial anastomosis
modified: graft anastomosis
Waterston shunt
Sano shunt: right ventricle to...
Article
Page kidney
Page kidney, or Page phenomenon, refers to systemic hypertension secondary to extrinsic compression of the kidney by a subcapsular collection, e.g. hematoma, seroma, or urinoma.
Clinical presentation
Patients present with hypertension, which may be recognized acutely after an inciting event or...
Article
Panzerherz (heart)
Panzerherz (or armoured heart) is a term used to describe the appearance of the heart in calcified constrictive pericarditis.
The pericardium becomes circumferentially thickened with calcification, limiting the ability of the heart to contract. The rim of dense calcification describes how the h...
Article
Papillary fibroelastoma of the heart
Papillary fibroelastomas are rare benign primary cardiac tumors. However, of the primary cardiac tumors, they are one of the commonest to occur in relation to the cardiac valves (may account for 75% of valvular tumors 10).
Epidemiology
Its estimated prevalence ranges between <0.01 to 0.33% 5....
Article
Papillary muscle calcification
Papillary muscle calcification in the heart small amounts can be a common finding in elderly patients and are often located at the apex. Large calcifications involving the papillary muscles are, however, rare. They have been associated with conditions such as:
coronary artery disease
dilated c...
Article
Papillary muscles
The papillary muscles are thick bands and ridges of endocardial-lined myocardium that project into the lumen of the cardiac ventricles. They essentially represent dominant ventricular trabeculae which attach to the cusps of the atrioventricular valves via the chordae tendineae. During systole, t...
Article
Parachute device
A parachute device or ventricular partitioning device is a percutaneously inserted cardiac device aimed at improving cardiac output and reducing cardiac remodeling in patients following myocardial infarction.
Principle
The device consists of an umbrella shaped frame with a overlying membrane, ...
Article
Parachute mitral valve
A parachute mitral valve is a valvular congenital abnormality usually identified in infants or young children, though it can present later, in adulthood.
Pathology
Parachute mitral valves occur when all the chordae tendineae are attached to a single papillary muscle origin. Unlike the normal s...
Article
Partial anomalous pulmonary venous return
Partial anomalous pulmonary venous return (PAPVR), also known as partial anomalous pulmonary venous connection (PAPVC), is a rare congenital cardiovascular condition in which some of the pulmonary veins, but not all, drain into the systemic circulation rather than in the left atrium.
Clinical p...
Article
Passive hepatic congestion
Passive hepatic congestion, also known as congested liver in cardiac disease, describes the stasis of blood in the hepatic parenchyma, due to impaired hepatic venous drainage, which leads to the dilation of central hepatic veins and hepatomegaly.
Passive hepatic congestion is a well-studied re...
Article
Patent ductus arteriosus
Patent ductus arteriosus or arteriosum (PDA) is a congenital cardiac anomaly where there is persistent patency of the ductus arteriosus, a normal connection of the fetal circulation between the aorta and the pulmonary arterial system that develops from the 6th aortic arch.
Epidemiology
Patent ...
Article
Patent foramen ovale
A patent foramen ovale (PFO) is a type of atrial septal defect in which there is channel-like communication between the atria through an unfused fossa ovale.
Gross anatomy
The foramen ovale in the interatrial septum normally develops into the fossa ovalis when the flaps of the atrial septa pri...
Article
Pectinate muscles
The pectinate muscles are "teeth of a comb" shaped parallel muscular columns that are present on the inner wall of the right and left atria.
The right atrium has thick and coarse pectinate muscles while these are few smooth and thinner in the left atrium.
History and etymology
The term is der...
Article
Pentalogy of Fallot
The pentalogy of Fallot is a variant of the more common tetralogy of Fallot, comprising the classic four features with the addition of an atrial septal defect or patent ductus arteriosus:
ventricular septal defect (VSD)
right ventricular outlfow tract narrowing or complete obstruction
right ...
Article
Pericardial agenesis
Pericardial agenesis is a rare condition where there is the absence of the pericardium to varying degrees. If it is only a small portion of the pericardium that is absent it is known as a pericardial defect.
Epidemiology
According to a surgical and pathological series, the prevalence (inclusiv...
Article
Pericardial cyst
Pericardial cysts are uncommon benign congenital anomalies of the anterior and middle mediastinum.
Clinical presentation
Usually asymptomatic and discovered incidentally although occasionally may present with chest pain and dyspnea.
Pathology
They are thought to often result from aberrations...
Article
Pericardial diverticulum
Pericardial diverticula are focal outpouching arising from the pericardium. They are differentiated from congenital pericardial cysts by the presence of direct communication with the pericardial cavity. They can change in size related to body position, with symptoms related to the change in posi...
Article
Pericardial effusion
Pericardial effusions occur when excess fluid collects in the pericardial space (a normal pericardial sac contains approximately 30-50 mL of fluid).
Epidemiology
There is no single demographic affected, as there are many underlying causes of pericardial effusion.
Clinical presentation
Clinic...
Article
Pericardial fat necrosis
Pericardial fat necrosis (a.k.a. epicardial fat necrosis) is a rare self-limiting cause of acute pleuritic pain in an otherwise healthy individual, without fever or cough. It occurs external to the pericardium.
Clinical presentation
The patient presents with an acute pleuritic chest pain that ...
Article
Pericardial fat pads
Pericardial fat pads are normal structures that lie in the cardiophrenic angle. They are adipose tissues surrounding the heart composed of the epicardial fat, which lies between the myocardium and visceral pericardium, and paracardial fat, which is adherent and external to the parietal pericardi...
Article
Pericardial hemangioma
Pericardial hemangioma is a location specific rare subtype of cardiac hemangioma which arises from either the parietal or visceral (commoner 3) pericardial layers.
Treatment and prognosis
It is a benign tumor. Treatment option vary from monitoring to resection.
See also
pericardial tumors
...
Article
Pericardial ligaments
The pericardial ligaments is a name given to a group of variable fibrous ligaments or adhesions that connect the pericardium to adjacent structures. These ‘ligaments’ tether the fibrous pericardium to it's surrounds, hence movements of the chest wall and diaphragm influence the position of the ...
Article
Pericardial lipoblastoma
Pericardial lipoblastomas are rare benign tumors that usually occur in children less than 3 years of age. They originate from embryonic fat cells and are divided into two forms, based on location 1:
superficial form: well-circumscribed and well-encapsulated
deep form: not well-circumscribed an...
Article
Pericardial lipoma
Pericardial lipomas are slowly growing benign tumors of the pericardium that are asymptomatic unless large in size, where they can cause pressure symptoms.
Radiographic features
Echocardiography
Tends to be echogenic structure adjacent or inside the pericardium.
CT
Seen as a fatty attenuati...
Article
Pericardial mesothelioma
Pericardial mesothelioma refers to mesothelioma arising primarily from the pericardium.
Epidemiology
They are rare and are only thought to account for ~0.7% of all malignant mesotheliomas. There is male to female predominance of approximately 3:1.
Clinical presentation
The presentation of p...
Article
Pericardial recesses
The pericardial recesses are small spaces in the pericardial cavity arising from the transverse pericardial sinus that are formed by the reflections of the pericardium. Pericardial fluid can pool in these recesses, mimicking mediastinal lymph nodes or pathology. There are several pericardial re...
Article
Pericardial space
The pericardial space or cavity is the fluid-filled space between the parietal and visceral layers of the serous pericardium. In normal conditions, it contains only a small amount of serous pericardial fluid, usually 15-20 mL.
Related pathology
Pericardial effusion is the pathological accumula...
Article
Pericardial teratoma
Pericardial teratomas are type of primary pericardial tumor. They are usually diagnosed in infants and neonates. As with all teratomas, they are comprised of contain endodermal, mesodermal and neuroectodermal germinal layers. While they are usually benign tumors, they may be life-threatening du...
Article
Pericardial thickening
Pericardial thickening refers to an abnormally thickened state of the pericardium and may occur in inflammatory (i.e. pericarditis) as well as non-inflammatory situations.
Many consider a maximum thickness ~2 mm (as measured on CT/MRI) as the upper limit of normal, with a thickness greater than...
Article
Pericardial tumors
There are a number of tumors that can involve the pericardium. They include
primary pericardial tumors
primary pericardial mesothelioma
pericardial sarcoma(s)
pericardial liposarcoma
pericardial fibrosarcoma
pericardial fibroma
primary pericardial lymphoma
pericardial hemangioma
pericar...
Article
Pericardial window
Pericardial window or fenestration is a procedure performed to create a fistula or "window" from the pericardial space to the pleural space. It is done to allow a pericardial effusion to drain the chest cavity in order to relieve situations with increased pressures such as with cardiac tamponade.
Article
Pericardiocentesis
Pericardiocentesis is a procedure that can be performed to withdraw pericardial fluid as a therapeutic intervention or a diagnostic modality.
Indications
diagnostic
pericardial effusion of an unknown etiology
therapeutic
relief of pericardial tamponade
Contraindications
absolute
none (gi...