Mechanical and structural correlates of canine pericardium.

We have assessed viscoelastic properties of pericardium within the physiological range of stresses and related mechanical behavior to fiber direction as defined by scanning electron microscopy. Stiffness, stress relaxation, and creep were measured in samples taken from the anterior surface of 14 canine pericardia. Stress-strain relations generally were not exponential; stiffness at a stress of 1 g/mm2 ranged from 12.9 to 239 g/mm2 during stretch and varied both from pericardium to pericardium and with the orientation of the strip within the sample (anisotropy). The strips exhibited hysteretic behavior which was not promotional to rate of strain. Following a rapid increase in stress, creep averaged less than 1% and stress relaxation, 34% in a 30-minute test period. The orientation of the strip with the greatest stiffness was consistent from pericardium to pericardium, and correlated with a layer of collagen fibers oriented along the major axis of te strip.