Visceral layerThe inner wall, which covers the organ itself.
Parietal layerThe outer wall, which lines the wall of the cavity.
Serous cavityThe space between the two layers, wet with serous fluid.
In the trunk 9
Parietal pleuraIt lines the chest wall and covers the diaphragm.
Visceral pleuraIt covers the lung's surface.
Pleural cavityThe potential space between the two layers of pleura.
Parietal pericardiumThe outer serous layer; it lines the fibrous pericardium.
Visceral pericardium (epicardium)It covers the heart and is also called the epicardium.
Pericardial cavityThe space between the two serous layers around the heart.
Parietal peritoneumIt lines the wall of the abdomen.
Visceral peritoneumIt is wrapped around the organs of the abdomen.
Peritoneal cavityThe potential space between parietal and visceral peritoneum.
How this list was compiled: Every name and detail line was read on 2026-10-03 and kept only where two independent sources give it. (1) Henry Gray, Anatomy of the Human Body (1918, public domain): The Pleurae, The Pericardium and The Abdomen (the peritoneum), https://www.theodora.com/anatomy/the_pleurae.html , https://www.theodora.com/anatomy/the_pericardium.html and https://www.theodora.com/anatomy/the_abdomen.html . (2) Wikipedia, text only: Pleura, Pericardium, Peritoneum and Serous fluid, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pleura . (3) US National Cancer Institute, SEER Training Modules, Membranes, https://training.seer.cancer.gov/anatomy/cells_tissues_membranes/membranes.html . (4) Textbook passages found by archive.org's full-text search: Human Anatomy (2012), https://archive.org/details/humananatomy0000mcki ; Laboratory Textbook of Anatomy and Physiology (1998), https://archive.org/details/laboratorytextbo0000wood ; Atlas and Text-book of Human Anatomy (1906, public domain), https://archive.org/details/atlasandtextboo01thomgoog ; Anatomy and Physiology the Easy Way (2004), https://archive.org/details/anatomyphysiolog0000alca_v8e1 ; Anatomical Terms and Their Derivation (2007), https://archive.org/details/anatomicaltermst0000liso . The drawing is our own. Licence: own work
The drawing: Drawn for this site on 2026-10-03 from plain geometry. Own original drawing; nothing traced or copied. Licence: own work
How it works
This serous membrane anatomy quiz lights one band or space and asks its name. It starts on a fist pushed into a balloon, then asks the layers and cavities around a lung, the heart and the abdomen.
Read the full guide
How the nine names in the trunk are built
Each name has two halves. The first says which layer: parietal for the outer one, on the wall, and visceral for the inner one, on the organ. The second says which membrane: pleura at a lung, pericardium at the heart, peritoneum in the abdomen. The space between a pair takes the adjective of its membrane: the pleural, pericardial or peritoneal cavity.
Two Greek roots help: pericardium is peri, around, with kardia, heart, and peritoneum means stretched over.
The fibrous pericardium, the tough outer sac around the heart, is not a serous layer, so the quiz does not ask it.
Questions and answers
Which serous membrane surrounds the heart?
The pericardium. Its serous part has a parietal layer, which lines the fibrous pericardium, and a visceral layer on the heart itself, with the pericardial cavity between them.
Is the epicardium the same as the visceral pericardium?
Yes. The visceral layer of the serous pericardium covers the heart muscle and is also called the epicardium, so the quiz gives both names in one answer.
Which serous membrane covers the lungs?
The pleura, one for each lung. The visceral pleura covers the surface of the lung, and the parietal pleura lines the chest wall and covers the diaphragm.
Which serous membrane lines the abdominal cavity?
The peritoneum. The parietal peritoneum is attached to the wall of the abdomen and the visceral peritoneum is wrapped around the organs. The peritoneal cavity is the potential space between them.