Name the dorsal body cavities.

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Multiple Choice

Name the dorsal body cavities.

Dorsal body cavities protect the brain and spinal cord. These two spaces are the cranial cavity, housed inside the skull, and the vertebral (spinal) cavity, contained within the vertebral column. They are continuous with each other and enclosed by protective membranes called meninges, forming the dorsal compartment. The other large body cavities—the thoracic and abdominopelvic—are on the ventral (front) side and house the visceral organs, with subdivisions like pleural and pericardial within the thoracic cavity. Therefore, the cranial cavity and the vertebral cavity are the dorsal body cavities.

Dorsal body cavities protect the brain and spinal cord. These two spaces are the cranial cavity, housed inside the skull, and the vertebral (spinal) cavity, contained within the vertebral column. They are continuous with each other and enclosed by protective membranes called meninges, forming the dorsal compartment. The other large body cavities—the thoracic and abdominopelvic—are on the ventral (front) side and house the visceral organs, with subdivisions like pleural and pericardial within the thoracic cavity. Therefore, the cranial cavity and the vertebral cavity are the dorsal body cavities.

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