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Contracting the respiratory muscles expands the chest cavity, causing the attached parietal pleura to also expand outwards. If the pleural functional vacuum stays intact, the pleural space will remain as collapsed as possible and cause the visceral pleura to be pulled along outwards, which in turn draws the underlying lung also into expansion.
The serous membrane that covers the surface of the lung is the visceral pleura and is separated from the outer membrane, the parietal pleura, by just the film of pleural fluid in the pleural cavity. The visceral pleura follows the fissures of the lung and the root of the lung structures. The parietal pleura is attached to the mediastinum, the ...
For instance the parietal peritoneum is attached to the abdominal wall and the pelvic walls. [2] The visceral peritoneum is wrapped around the visceral organs. For the heart, the layers of the serous membrane are called parietal and visceral pericardium. For the lungs they are called parietal and visceral pleura.
The thoracic cavity is the space that includes the pleura, lungs, and heart, while the pleural space is only the space between the parietal pleura and visceral pleura surrounding lungs. Intrapleural pressure depends on the ventilation phase, atmospheric pressure, and the volume of the intrapleural cavity.
A pleural effusion appears as an area of whiteness on a standard posteroanterior chest X-ray. [14] Normally, the space between the visceral pleura and the parietal pleura cannot be seen. A pleural effusion infiltrates the space between these layers. Because the pleural effusion has a density similar to water, it can be seen on radiographs.
The pleural space, between the visceral and parietal pleura of the lung, is a potential space. [1] Though it only contains a small amount of fluid normally, it can sometimes accumulate fluid or air that widens the space. [ 2 ]
The visceral-parietal reflection surrounding the root of the lung extends downwards from the hilum to near the base of the lower lobe in a sleeve-like fold called the pulmonary ligament. The lower rounded edge of this is sometimes referred to as the inferior pulmonary ligament. At the lower edge of each lung, the pleural layers come into ...
The pleurae are two serous membranes; the outer parietal pleura lines the inner wall of the rib cage and the inner visceral pleura directly lines the surface of the lungs. Between the pleurae is a potential space called the pleural cavity containing a thin layer of lubricating pleural fluid.