What does pericardiac mean?
Pericardiac is an anatomical adjective meaning relating to the heart's immediate surroundings, especially the pericardium. The pericardium is the sac that encloses the heart and the roots of the great blood vessels, with a small amount of lubricating fluid between its layers to reduce friction as the heart beats. In medical usage, the adjective can describe tissues, spaces, or regions around this sac, as in pericardiac region. Although it closely overlaps with the more familiar pericardial, pericardiac is especially associated with describing physical locations around the heart. The word is technical rather than general-purpose and is encountered chiefly in anatomy, radiology, and surgery.
adjectiveRelating to the pericardium, the membrane-like sac surrounding the heart. Also, situated near or around the heart.
- Relating to the pericardium, the sac surrounding the heart; pertaining to the area around the heart.
"The scan revealed fluid in the pericardiac region."
"The physician explained that the infection had spread into the pericardiac tissues."
"The images showed an abnormal widening of the pericardiac space."
Pericardiac is the geographical name for the heart's surrounding neighborhood: the pericardium encloses the heart like a protective, fluid-filled bag.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does pericardiac come from?
Pericardiac comes from the Latin pericardium, a noun formed from the Greek prefix peri-, meaning around, and kardia, meaning heart. The corresponding Greek compound was also called perikardion, referring to the sac around the heart. Latin transformed this into pericardium, from which the modern English adjective was formed. The same root underlies pericardial, pericarditis, and pericardiectomy.
Related word forms
How pericardiac is actually used
This is a specialized medical and anatomical adjective. It is less common than the related, more widely used term pericardial.
Easily confused with pericardiac
Pericardial is the more common medical adjective relating to the pericardium, whereas pericardiac is used chiefly in anatomical descriptions of the area surrounding the heart.