Lecture 2 (Body Cavities) Flashcards
Body Cavities
Define body cavities
Spaces within the body that are closed to the outside and contain the internal organs
What’s a visceral organ?
An internal organ that is partially or completely enclosed by a body cavity
What are the 2 major hollow areas in the body?
Dorsal cavity & ventral cavity
What’s a diaphragm?
A muscular sheet that separates the thoracic cavity from the abdominopelvic cavity
What are the 2 cavities that developed from the ventral cavity?
Thoracic cavity and abdominopelvic cavity
What’s in the thoracic cavity?
- Right pleural cavity (right lung)
- Left pleural cavity (left lung)
- Mediastinum
What does mediastinum contain?
- Heart (pericardial cavity)
- Trachea & r. l. bronchi
- Esophagus
- Thymus
- Various blood vessels
- Some lymphatic vessels & lymph nodes
- Nerves
Name and situate the 2 cavities the abdominopelvic cavity is subdivided into?
- Abdominal cavity: upper portion
-Pelvic cavity: Lower portion
What’s in the abdominal cavity?
- Liver
- Gallbladder
- Stomach
- Pancreas
- Intestines
- Spleen
- Kidneys
- Urethers
What’s in the pelvic cavity?
- Bladder
- Certain reproductive organs
- Part of the large intestine
Explain the dorsal body cavity
The dorsal body cavity is the space thats houses the central nervous system and has 2 subdivisions (which are continuous with each other)
What are the 2 subdivisions of the dorsal body cavity and what do they contain?
- Cranial cavity: within the skull, houses the brain
- Spinal cavity: within the vertebral column, and houses the spinal cord
Name a few small body cavities
- Oral and digestive cavities
- Nasal cavities
- Middle ear cavities
- Synovial cavities (joints)
