thoracic cavity n.
The space within the walls of the chest, bounded below by the diaphragm and above by the neck, and containing the heart and the lungs.
Then the contraction of another set of muscles decreases the size of the thoracic cavity, and the air is squeezed out again.
Those which live in the thoracic cavity of some Brachyuri, as the Entoniscus.
As it is, not a drop of blood has escaped from the aorta into the thoracic cavity.
The heart is crowded by the flattening of the ribs and the contraction of the thoracic cavity.
The lungs are small and occupy only the dorsal portion of the thoracic cavity.
As the statistics prove, the most usual route for discharge to take place is by the thoracic cavity, especially the right lung.
Such conditions locate its position within the thoracic cavity.
Within the thoracic cavity anterior to the heart note a mass of pinkish tissue, the thymus gland.
If it is severe, there may be an effusion filling one-fourth to one-third of the thoracic cavity in from 36 to 48 hours.
The thoracic cavity is divided into two lateral compartments, each containing one lung and a part of the heart.