The abdominal cavity contains important organs, including the intestines, liver, kidneys, spleen, and adrenal glands. It is lined by the peritoneum, which protects and anchors the organs. Surgery in this area carries risks, but endoscopic surgery has reduced them.
The abdominal cavity is a large body cavity that contains the major viscera. This body cavity is the largest in the body, but it is far from empty space. In fact, it’s quite filled with various important organs that are ingeniously packaged in their place.
Above the abdominal cavity is the chest cavity, which contains the lungs and heart. The two are separated by a layer of hard tissue known as the diaphragm. The chest cavity is also distinguished from the abdomen because it is surrounded by the rib cage, which provides additional support and protection for the internal organs. The abdomen, in contrast, lacks a bony cage to protect its contents. Underneath is the pelvic cavity. It is not actually physically separate from the cavity above, but contains several organs with different functions and is treated as separate.
The entire abdomen is lined by the peritoneum. This lining performs a number of important functions, including protecting the organs it surrounds, providing blood flow to the organs, anchoring the organs in place, and absorbing any impacts that may be sustained. There are several layers of peritoneum separated by a layer of serous fluid which provides lubrication so the layers can slide over each other.
The abdominal cavity contains the food organs, including the small and large intestines along with the liver, kidneys, spleen, and adrenal glands. It’s actually quite cramped in this area in most animals because the intestine is extremely long to allow the body to digest food. One problem that can emerge in this body cavity is peritonitis, where inflammation sets in and spreads through the abdominal organs. Inflammation can be the result of puncture wounds, surgery, or systemic problems within the abdomen, such as cancer that goes untreated.
Surgical procedures in the abdominal cavity are often performed by a general surgeon, although surgeons in other specialty areas may have reason to enter the abdomen during procedures. Surgery in this area is generally considered important because it carries a number of risks for the patient. The development of endoscopic surgery has radically reduced the risks of abdominal surgery by eliminating the need for open incisions with many surgical procedures. In addition to being less risky, such procedures have a drastically reduced healing time and usually cause less pain for the patient.
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