dorsal cavity

(noun)

The cavity in the back of the body that contains the cranial and vertebral cavities, which house the brain and spinal cord respectively.

Related Terms

  • Thoracic Cavity
  • abdominoplevic cavity
  • coelom
  • abdominal cavity

Examples of dorsal cavity in the following topics:

  • Body Cavities

    • The dorsal cavity is a continuous cavity located on the dorsal side of the body.
    • The meninges is a multi-layered membrane within the dorsal cavity that envelops and protects the brain and spinal cord.
    • The cranial cavity is the anterior portion of the dorsal cavity consisting of the space inside the skull.
    • The vertebral cavity is the posterior portion of the dorsal cavity and contains the structures within the vertebral column.
    • Humans have multiple body cavities, including the cranial cavity, the vertebral cavity, the thoracic cavity (containing the pericardial cavity and the pleural cavity), the abdominal cavity, and the pelvic cavity.
  • Animal Body Planes and Cavities

    • A frontal plane (also called a coronal plane) separates the front (ventral) from the back (dorsal).
    • The posterior (dorsal) and anterior (ventral) cavities are each subdivided into smaller cavities.
    • In the posterior cavity, the cranial cavity houses the brain and the spinal cavity (or vertebral cavity) encloses the spinal cord.
    • The brain and spinal cord are protected by the bones of the skull and vertebral column and by cerebrospinal fluid, a colorless fluid produced by the brain, which cushions the brain and spinal cord within the posterior (dorsal) cavity.
    • The dorsal cavity, indicated in green, contains the cranial and the spinal cavity.
  • Development of the Central Nervous System

    • The CNS is contained within the dorsal cavity, with the brain in the cranial cavity and the spinal cord in the spinal cavity.
    • The telencephalon differentiates into, among other things, the striatum, the hippocampus, and the neocortex, and its cavity becomes the first and second ventricles.
    • Diencephalon elaborations include the subthalamus, hypothalamus, thalamus, and epithalamus, and its cavity forms the third ventricle.
    • The tectum, pretectum, cerebral peduncle, and other structures develop out of the mesencephalon, and its cavity grows into the mesencephalic duct (cerebral aqueduct).
    • The metencephalon becomes, among other things, the pons and the cerebellum; the myelencephalon forms the medulla oblongata; and their cavities develop into the fourth ventricle.
  • Arteries of the Pelvis and Lower Limbs

    • The abdominal aorta divides into the major arteries of the leg: the femoral, popliteal, tibial, dorsal foot, plantar, and fibular arteries.
    • The pelvic cavity is largely supplied by the paired internal iliac arteries.
  • Phylum Mollusca

    • It is the ventral-most organ, whereas the mantle is the limiting dorsal organ.
    • Mollusks are eucoelomate, but the cavity is restricted to a region around the heart in adult animals.
    • The mantle cavity develops independently of the coelomic cavity.
    • The mantle (also known as the pallium) is the dorsal epidermis in mollusks; shelled mollusks are specialized to secrete a chitinous and hard calcareous shell.
  • Scapula

    • The scapula also articulates with the humerus of the upper arm forming the shoulder joint, or glenohumeral joint, at the glenoid cavity.
    • Due to its flat nature the scapula presents two surfaces and three borders; the front facing costal surface and the rear facing dorsal surface, as well as the superior, lateral and medial borders.
    • The dorsal surface gives origin to the supraspinatus and infraspinatus muscles and inferiorly to the teres minor and major.
    • The lateral border is the thickest border of the scapula and extends downwards from the glenoid cavity.
    • Immediately below the glenoid cavity is the infranglenoid tuberosity which is the origin for the long head of the triceps brachii.
  • Autonomic Ganglia

    • The dorsal root ganglia lie along the vertebral column by the spine and develop in the embryo from neural crest cells, not neural tube.
    • A dorsal root ganglion (or spinal ganglion) is a nodule on a dorsal root of the spine that contains cell bodies of nerve cells (neurons) that carry signals from sensory organs towards the appropriate integration center.
    • The axons of dorsal root ganglion neurons are known as afferents.
    • Unlike the majority of neurons found in the central nervous system, an action potential in dorsal root ganglion neuron may initiate in the distal process in the periphery, bypass the cell body, and continue to propagate along the proximal process until reaching the synaptic terminal in the dorsal horn of the spinal cord.
    • Preganglionic nerves from the spinal cord synapse end at one of the chain ganglia and the postganglionic fiber extends to an effector, typically a visceral organ in the thoracic cavity.
  • Somite Development

    • During the second week of development, the lateral mesoderm splits into a dorsal somatic mesoderm (somatopleure) and a ventral splanchnic mesoderm (splanchnopleure).
    • By the third week of development, this process gives rise to a cavity between the somatopleure and splanchnopleure, which is referred to as the intraembryonic celom.
    • This space later gives rise to both the thoracic and abdominal cavities.
    • The dermatome is the dorsal portion of the paraxial mesoderm somite.
    • Dorsal view of a human embryo.
  • Overview of the Axial Skeleton

    • The human skull is a bony structure which supports the structures of the face and forms a cavity for the brain.
    • The human rib cage, also known as the thoracic cage, is a bony and cartilaginous structure which surrounds the thoracic cavity and supports the pectoral girdle, forming a core portion of the human skeleton.
    • It is situated in the dorsal aspect of the torso, separated by intervertebral discs.
  • Phylum Nemertea

    • Nemertea, or ribbon worms, are distinguished by their proboscis, used for capturing prey and enclosed in a cavity called a rhynchocoel.
    • The rhynchocoel is a fluid-filled cavity that extends from the head to nearly two-thirds of the length of the gut in these animals .
    • The circulatory system is derived from the coelomic cavity of the embryo.
    • This image shows the internal structures of a basic nemertean, including the proboscis and the rhynchocoel: 1: Proboscis 2: Rhynchocoel 3: Dorsal commissure of brain 4: Rhynchodeum 5: Proboscis pore 6: Ventral commissure of brain 7: Mouth 8: Foregut 9: Stomach
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