Computed tomography of absent left pericardium.

Abstract

Pericardial defects rarely cause clinical symptoms and thus are not often recognized. A case is reported in which the CT appearance of complete absence of the left pericardium reflects the abnormal relationship of the heart, pericardium, lung, and great vessels.

Partial absence of the left parietal pericardium with herniation of the left atrial appendage: Diagnosis by cross-sectional echocardiography and contrast-enhanced computed tomography

“…The pericardium normally appears as a dense line, 1-2 mm in thickness, surrounding the heart [7, 91 . Computed tomographic findings in complete [1] and incomplete [6,9] absence of the left pericardium have been reported previously . The findings included absence of the left-sided pericardial dense line, seen best at the level of the right ventricular outflow tract, and in the presence of large defects, by the interposition of r-filled lung between the aorta and pulmonary ar- tery .…”

Congenital Giant Aneurysm of the Left Atrial Appendage Mimicking Pericardial Absence

“…Approximately 50 cases have been reported worldwide, 1 the first being reported in 1960 by Diamond et al, 5 and it accounts for approximately 70% of cases of congenital left atrial aneurysms. In Japan, only 2 cases have been reported previously, 2,3 including the first case by Tanabe et al 3 In the past, this condition has been diagnosed by transthoracic echocardiography, 6 chest radiography, 7,8 cardiac catheterization and thoracotomy. Recently, transesophageal echocardiography and chest MRI have been reported as useful for the detection and differential diagnosis of this anomaly.…”

Multimodality Imaging of Pericardial Diseases

“…CCT and CMR. Although the pericardium is usually sufficiently thick to be identified on CCT and CMR, visualization at the most common site of pericardial defects, the lateral, posterior, and inferior left ventricular wall, can be poor because of a paucity of fat (53). Several indirect morphologic signs have been accepted as diagnostic of pericardial defects.…”