title: Congenital defects of pericardium: case reports and review of literature.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Pericardial defects are a rare condition, generally asymptomatic, due to failure in development of pericardial sac. They are difficult to detect, particularly the complete absence of the pericardium. At present magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is considered the best performing exam and it could be the first choice in the diagnosis of agenesia of the pericardium.
  
  
  METHODS
  A comprehensive review of dedicated books and PubMed literature was performed and three clinical cases have been analyzed.
  
  
  RESULTS
  We report three cases, one with partial and two with total agenesia of the left pericardium, seen at our Institute and diagnosed at MRI as unexpected findings.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The diagnosis of a congenital defect of the pericardium is challenging, even for expert radiologists, because this kind of deformity does not provide specific clinical nor conventional radiology findings. Nowadays, the most effective instrument for a certain diagnosis is MRI, interlocked with electrocardiography.
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Careggi University Hospital, Florence, Italy. teo.cuccuini@gmail.com
authors.forename: Matteo
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Cuccuini
authors.forename: Francesca
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Lisi
authors.forename: Arturo
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Consoli
authors.forename: Sara
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Mancini
authors.forename: Valentina
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Bellino
authors.forename: Giorgio
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Galanti
authors.forename: Leonardo
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Capaccioli
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D004562:Electrocardiography; D006321:Heart / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D010496:Pericardium / Q000002:abnormalities* / Q000473:pathology*; D055815:Young Adult