Eight cases of pericardial defects in the dog

Pericardial defects were found in eight dogs. In four dogs the defects were on the left side, in two on the right side, and in two on both sides. Six dogs had only one defect on the left or right side,one dog had three defects on the left side. One dog had four defects on the right side. All these defects were incidental findings at necropsy. There were no significant findings concerning breed, age, sex or localisation. It is not known if the defects were congenital or traumatic.