Body Cavities Flashcards
Folds in on itself to cover the organs within the ventral cavity
What is the visceral Serosa?
Collectively, organs in the ventral body cavity
What are the viscera or visceral organs?
The upper medial cavity within the thoracic cavity
What is the superior mediastinum?
Lines the cavity walls
What is Parietal Serosa?
Superior; contains liver, spleen, intestines
What is the abdominal cavity?
Includes the skull and encases the brain
What is the cranial cavity?
Thin, double-layered membrane which covers the walls of the ventral cavity and the organs it contains
What is Serosa or serous membrane?
Cavity within the thoracic cavity which encloses the heart
What is the pericardial cavity?
Lubricating fluid secreted by each membrane which also separates the membranes from each other
What is the Serous fluid?
Superior subdivision; surrounded by ribs and muscles of the chest
What is the thoracic cavity?
Inferior; lies in the bony pelvis
Contains urinary bladder, some reproductive organs and rectum
What is the pelvic cavity?
Separates the thoracic and abdominopelvic cavities
What is the diaphragm?
Each enveloping a lung
What are the pleural cavities?
Protects the fragile nervous system organs
What is the dorsal cavity?
Runs within the bony vertebral column, encloses the delicate spinal cord
What is the vertebral/spinal cavity?
