Pericardium

The closed membranous sac or covering that envelops the heart. Its base is attached to the central tendon of the diaphragm; its apex surrounds for a short distance the great ve els arising from the base of the heart. It consists of an ectal fibrous coat, derived from the cervical fascia, and an ental scions coat. The sac normally contains from half a dram to a dram of clear serous fluid. P., Adherent, a condition resulting from a previous pericarditis, in which the two layers of the pericardium are bound together by newly-formed connective ti ue. P., Bread-and-butter, a peculiar appearance produced in fibrinous pericarditis by the rubbing of the two surfaces of the membrane over each other. The surface is rough, like that produced when two pi of butter-and-bread, that have lain with their spread sides in contact, are pulled apart. P., Calcified, calcification of the pericardium, occurring in spots or diffusely. P., Parietal, the reflection of the pericardium not in direct contact with the heart; tht tion in contact with the pleura and the diaphragm. P., Visceral. P., Shaggy, a pericardium upon which, as the result of fibrinous pericarditis, thick, shaggy layers of fibrin are deposited. P., Visceral, the epicardium, i. e., the layer of pericardium attached to the surface of the heart.