The cavity within the body of all animals higher than the coelenterates and certain primitive worms, formed by the splitting of the embryonic mesoderm into two layers. In mammals it forms the peritoneal, pleural, and pericardial cavities.
Comment:
EDITOR_NOTE check the FMA placement here; ncit placement of body cavity here probably not correct; [taxon-note] "In mammals it forms the peritoneal, pleural, and pericardial cavities"
Synonyms:
exact_synonym:
coelomic cavity; coelomic cavity lumen; main body cavity; space of body compartment