The Myth of an Afterlife: The Case against Life After Death edited by Michael Martin and Keith Augustine, Rowman & Littlefield, 2015. ISBN 978-0-8108-8677-3. A Traveler's Guide to the Afterlife: Traditions and Beliefs on Death, Dying, and What Lies Beyond by Mark Mirabello, Ph.D. Inner Traditions.
In 1956, Proudfit and Effler 1 reported a simple method of performing pericardial biopsy which provides adequate amounts of tissue for bacteriologic and histologic study. Safe and effective pericardial drainage can be accomplished by the same procedure.
Pericardial drainage (pericardiocentesis) is done to find the cause of fluid buildup around the heart and to relieve pressure on the heart. The excess fluid removed during the pericardial drainage will be sent to a laboratory for analysis.