Dorsal and Ventral body cavities and their subdivisions

Cranial cavity

contains the brain; subdivision of dorsal cavity

Dorsal body cavity

protects the fragile nervous system organs, has 2 subdivisions: cranial and vertebral/spinal.

Vertebral/spinal cavity

contains the spinal cord

Thoracic cavity

contains heart and lungs; subdivision of ventral cavity; can be split into left and right pleural cavities, and pericardial cavity

Superior mediastinum

an artificially divided wedge-shaped compartment of the mediastinum located between the thoracic plane inferiorly and the thoracic inlet superiorly.

pleural cavity (left and right)

to cushion the lung and reduce any friction that may develop between the lung, rib cage, and chest cavity.

Pericardial cavity within the mediastinum

The heart lies within the…

Diaphragm

Large, flat muscle at the bottom of the chest cavity that helps with breathing; separates the thoracic cavity from the abdominopelvic cavity.

abdominal cavity

Contains digestive viscera. the stomach, intestines, spleen, and liver, and other organs; subdivision of abdominopelvic cavity.

Pelvic Cavity

Contains urinary bladder, reproductive organs, and rectum; subdivision of abdominopelvic cavity

Ventral body cavity

thoracic and abdominopelvic cavities

abdominopelvic cavity

Contains two cavities; Abdominal cavity and Pelvic cavity. It is separated from the chest by the diaphragm, and it contains most of the gastrointestinal organs.