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Definition

noun

The body cavity made up of the abdominal cavity and the pelvic cavity.

Supplement

The ventral body cavity is composed of thoracic cavity and abdominopelvic cavity separated to one another by the diaphragm.

The abdominopelvic cavity is one large cavity composed of the abdominal cavity and the pelvic cavity in which no muscle or membrane is physically separating the two cavities. Because it is a large body cavity, it is divided into four quadrants: the Right Upper Quadrant, the Left Upper Quadrant, the Right Lower Quadrant, and the Left Lower quadrant (the directional terms refer to the model's right and left, not the viewer's). This method of dividing the abdominopelvic cavity into quadrants is used by clinicians, such as physicians and nurses.

Compare: thoracic cavity.
See also: ventral body cavity, abdominal cavity, pelvic cavity.