pericardial

American  

[per-i-kahr-dee-uhl] / ˌpɛr ɪˈkɑr di əl /

Or pericardiac

adjective

1. of or relating to the pericardium.

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Other Word Forms

• postpericardial adjective
• subpericardiac adjective
• subpericardial adjective

Etymology

Origin of pericardial

First recorded in 1645–55; pericardi(um) + -al ¹

Example Sentences

In 2019, he underwent surgery for pericardial effusion - a condition affecting the heart.

From BBC • Aug. 5, 2025

One of the first patients to spark her interest in female health was a lioness with pericardial effusion, or fluid in the sac around her heart.

From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 14, 2022

The pixelated gray-and-white image of the patient’s rapidly beating heart muscle was surrounded by an unnatural black halo, indicating the presence of excess fluid in the pericardial sac.

From New York Times • Sep. 8, 2021

Those branches that supply blood primarily to visceral organs are known as the visceral branches and include the bronchial arteries, pericardial arteries, esophageal arteries, and the mediastinal arteries, each named after the tissues it supplies.

From Textbooks • Jun. 19, 2013

The pericardial milk-spots and thickenings, the tendinous or semi-cartilaginous, indurated patches of serous membranes and of the intima of arteries, are all regarded as manifestations of a chronic inflammation of these tissues.

From A System of Practical Medicine by American Authors, Vol. I Volume 1: Pathology and General Diseases by Various