Fibrous pericardium
Encyclopedia
The fibrous pericardium is the most superficial layer of the pericardium
Pericardium
The pericardium is a double-walled sac that contains the heart and the roots of the great vessels.-Layers:...

. It is made up of dense connective tissue
Dense connective tissue
Dense connective tissue, also called dense fibrous tissue, has fibers as its main matrix element. Dense connective tissue is mainly composed of collagen type I. Crowded between the collagen fibers are rows of fibroblasts, fiber-forming cells, that manufacture the fibers. Dense connective tissue...

, a loose connective tissue
Connective tissue
"Connective tissue" is a fibrous tissue. It is one of the four traditional classes of tissues . Connective Tissue is found throughout the body.In fact the whole framework of the skeleton and the different specialized connective tissues from the crown of the head to the toes determine the form of...

  which acts to protect the heart, anchoring it to the surrounding walls, and preventing it from overfilling with blood
Blood
Blood is a specialized bodily fluid in animals that delivers necessary substances such as nutrients and oxygen to the cells and transports metabolic waste products away from those same cells....

. It is continuous with the outer adventitial layer of the neighboring great blood vessel
Blood vessel
The blood vessels are the part of the circulatory system that transports blood throughout the body. There are three major types of blood vessels: the arteries, which carry the blood away from the heart; the capillaries, which enable the actual exchange of water and chemicals between the blood and...

s.

External links

- "Chest X-ray showing pericardium, posteroanterior view" - "MRI of chest, lateral view"
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