Name the main body cavities and their contents
There are three main body cavities :
- The thoracic cavity : This is formed by the rib cage, sternum, thoracic vertebrae, and the diaphragm. It contains the heart, lungs, trachea and oesophagus.
- The abdominal cavity : The abdominal cavity extends from the diaphragm to the pelvis, and is formed by the lumber vertebrae and abdominal muscles. It contains the stomach, liver, gallbladder, pancreas, spleen, kidneys, most of the small and large intestines and the lower part of the oesophagus.
- The pelvic cavity : This is formed by the sacrum, coccyx, ilium and iscium. It contains the lower parts of the small and large intestine, the bladder, and the female reproductive organs.
Resources :
In this section we've added a few alternative study aids to help you along.
- Articles - Here you'll find a range of short articles on basic anatomy and physiology topics, complete with a few 'test yourself' questions for each one.
- Images and pdf's - Just in case you get tired of looking at the screen we've provided images and pdf files that you can print out and use for 'off-line' practice.
- Word Roots - When you learn the word roots, prefixes and suffixes contained within anatomical and medical terms, you can often work out what they mean. This can be a useful skill as you progress in your studies, so we've provided a dictionary to help you!
- Games - Finally in the resources section, we've added some simple games to make anatomy and physiology practice a little bit more fun.