Pericarditis - Calcific
Calcification of the pericardium occurs as a progressive process. Fibrous thickening of the parietal pericardium provides the basis of the calcification process which is somewhate irregular. But, over time, it encases the heart in a shell of fibrocalcific tissue. The specimen shown corresponds to the left and right halves of the anterior portion of the pericardial sac after removal from the chest. The x-ray image on the right shows variable amounts of calcification ranging from scant to very wide and dense calcium deposition. Microscopically in most (non-infectious) instances the tissue is just dense thick fibrous tissue without active inflammation.
