Human Body Cavities

Body cavity is a space within the body that contains internal organs. Our body consists of five cavities, such as Spinal, Pelvic, abdominal, Thoracic, and Cranial.

1. Spinal Cavity-This cavity consists of nerves of the spinal cord.

2. Pelvic Cavity-This consists of urinary bladder, urethra, ureters, and uterus and vagina in the female.

3. Abdominal Cavity-This consists of Stomach, small and large intestines, spleen, liver, gallbladder and pancreas. Abdominal cavity is surrounded by a double-folded membrane called peritoneum. Two kidneys are situated at the back of the abdominal cavity, and this area is called as retroperitoneal area.

4. Thoracic Cavity-This cavity contains organs such as lungs, heart, esophagus, trachea, bronchial tubes, thymus gland, aorta (large artery). Thoracic cavity can also be divided into two smaller cavities:

i. Pleural cavity- This is a space between pleura (a double folded membrane covering each lung)

ii. Mediastinum- The area between the lungs which contains the heart, aorta, trachea, esophagus, thymus gland, and bronchial tubes.

5. Cranial cavity- This contains brain and pituitary gland.

In these cavities spinal and cranial cavities are on the back portion of the body, and so they are called dorsal body cavities. The Pelvic, abdominal, and thoracic cavities are on the front portion of the body and so they are called ventral body cavities. The abdominal and thoracic cavities are divided by a muscular wall called diaphragm. The abdominal and pelvic cavities are not separated by any structures are not separated by any structures and these two cavities combining to form abdominopelvic cavity.

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