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Primary pericardial mesothelioma is an extremely rare and lethal cardiac tumor. We report an autopsy case of a primary pericardial mesothelioma in a 52-year-old man. He developed dyspnea, cough, low-grade fever and night sweats approximately 3 months before last admission. Initially, he was evaluated at a hospital in another city, without a firm diagnosis. Due to progressive symptoms and the development of lower-extremity edema, he presented at our hospital in September 2005. The physical examination at admission demonstrated signs of pericardial tamponade. Chest radiography revealed marked enlargement of the cardiac silhouette. Specimens of bloody pericardial fluid were positive for pericardial mesothelioma by cytologic examination. The general condition of the patient worsened very rapidly and he was transferred to the intensive care unit where he later died. Postmortem examination confirmed primary pericardial mesothelioma of the mixed/biphasic type with lymphatic metastasis in the right lung. By using immunohistochemical analysis for specific markers of mesothelioma and for differentiation of the mesothelioma from the lung adenocarcinoma, definitive diagnosis was established: primary pericardial mesothelioma

BackgroundAs a continuation of the previous findings in human fetuses, accidental finding of an accessory vascular component in the posterior part of CAC of human adult cadavers inspired the authors to present and compare its posterior part configuration.Case presentationExamination was carried out on brains of 48 human adult cadavers, routinely dissected at the Institute of Forensic Medicine. The aberrant vessel in the posterior part of four CACs was discovered.Vascular components of the posterior segment of CAC or of the whole CAC were described and photographed. A comparison between fetal and adult cases was also presented.ConclusionsBased on the fact that the age of the four presented cases ranged from 73 to 84 and based on the causes of their death, we concluded that the angioarchitecture of the posterior part of the CAC is a consequence of the embryonic or primitive arterial stabilization and interaction with normal adult vessels.

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