Internal organs are located within dorsal and ventral cavities (Fig.1). The dorsal cavity contains the brain in the cranial cavity and the spinal cord in the spinal cavity (canal). The uppermost ventral space, the thoracic cavity, is separated from the abdominal cavity by the diaphragm. There is no anatomical separation between the abdominal cavity and the pelvic cavity, which together make up the abdominopelvic cavity. The large membrane that lines the abdominopelvic cavity and covers the organs within it is the peritoneum.

FIGURE 1. Side view of the body cavities. (Reprinted with permission from Cohen BJ, Wood DL. Memmler's  The Human Body in Health and Disease. 9th Ed. Philadelphia: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, 2000.)

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