Cavum

Body cavity
Cross-section of an oligochaete worm. The worm's body cavity surrounds the central typhlosole.
Identifiers
FMA	85006
Anatomical terminology []

A body cavity is any fluid-filled space in a multicellular organism other than those of vessels (such as blood vessels and lymph vessels). The human body cavity normally refers to the ventral body cavity, because it is by far the largest.

A coelom is a cavity lined by an epithelium derived from mesoderm. Organs formed inside a coelom can freely move, grow, and develop independently of the body wall while fluid cushions and protects them from shocks.

Arthropods and most mollusks have a reduced (but still true) coelom, usually the pericardial cavity and the gonocoel. Their principal body cavity is the hemocoel or haeomocoel of an open circulatory system, often derived from the blastocoel.

Mammalian embryos develop two cavities: the intraembryonic coelom and the extraembryonic coelom (or chorionic cavity). The intraembryonic coelom is lined by somatic and splanchnic lateral plate mesoderm, while the extraembryonic coelom is lined by extraembryonic mesoderm. The intraembryonic coelom is the only cavity that persists in the mammal at term, which is why its name is often contracted to simply coelomic cavity. Subdividing the coelomic cavity into compartments, for example, the pericardial cavity / pericardium, where the heart develops, simplifies discussion of the anatomies of complex animals.

Organisms can be also classified according to the type of body cavity they possess.

Anatomical structures are often described in terms of the cavity in which they reside. The body maintains its internal organization by means of membranes, sheaths, and other structures that separate compartments. The dorsal (posterior) cavity and the ventral (anterior) cavity are the largest body compartments. These cavities contain and protect delicate internal organs, and the ventral cavity allows for significant changes in the size and shape of the organs as they perform their functions. The lungs, heart, stomach, and intestines, for example, can expand and contract without distorting other tissues or disrupting the activity of nearby organs.