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Chapter 3 - Anatomy of the Cardiac Chambers

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 April 2024

Robert H. Anderson ,
Andrew C. Cook ,
Diane E. Spicer ,
Anthony M. Hlavacek ,
Carl L. Backer  and
Justin T. Tretter
Robert H. Anderson
Affiliation:
Institute of Genetic Medicine, Newcastle University
Andrew C. Cook
Affiliation:
University College London
Diane E. Spicer
Affiliation:
University of Florida
Anthony M. Hlavacek
Affiliation:
Medical University of South Carolina
Carl L. Backer
Affiliation:
Cincinnati Children's Hospital
Justin T. Tretter
Affiliation:
Cleveland Clinic, Ohio
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Summary

Regardless of the surgical approach, once having entered the mediastinum, the surgeon will be confronted by the heart enclosed in its pericardial sac. In the strict anatomical sense, this sac has two layers, one fibrous and the other serous. From a practical point of view, the pericardium is essentially the tough fibrous layer, since the serous component forms the lining of the fibrous sac, and is reflected back onto the surface of the heart as the epicardium. It is the fibrous sac, therefore, which encloses the mass of the heart. By virtue of its own attachments to the diaphragm, it helps support the heart within the mediastinum. Free-standing around the atrial chambers and the ventricles, the sac becomes adherent to the adventitial coverings of the great arteries and veins at their entrances to and exits from it, these attachments closing the pericardial cavity.1

Type
Chapter
Information
Wilcox's Surgical Anatomy of the Heart , pp. 41 - 76
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2024

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References

References Cited

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