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Spaces
Anatomical spaces are the named compartments, cavities, recesses, sinuses, pouches and potential spaces that organise a region: the mediastinum, the lesser sac, the carotid sinus, the ischioanal fossa, the ventricles of the brain. Each is defined by its boundaries, filled by its contents, and connected to its neighbours by its communications.
Every space in the AnatoMemory reference is listed below, grouped by body region. Each card covers the boundaries, contents, and communications exams ask for.
62 spaces, grouped by region
Thorax
17- Aortic hiatusPosterior route beneath the median arcuate ligament
- Aortic sinuses (of Valsalva)The expanded root spaces beside the aortic cusps
- Cardiac auscultation areasChest-wall regions for hearing transmitted cardiac sounds
- Caval openingPassage for the vena cava within tendon
- Costodiaphragmatic recessPleural extension below the resting lung edge
- Costomediastinal recessAnterior pleural interval beside the mediastinum
- Esophageal hiatusMuscular opening around the lower esophagus
- Horizontal fissureUsual boundary between right superior and middle lobes
- Intercostal spaceMuscle and neurovascular layers between ribs
- MediastinumThe central thoracic region between the pleural sacs
- Oblique fissureSloping pleural boundary beside the inferior lobe
- Oblique pericardial sinusA blind recess behind the left atrium
- Pericardial cavityThe thin fluid-containing space between serous surfaces
- Pleural cavityFluid-lined interval around each lung
- Root of the lungStructures connecting a lung to the mediastinum
- Transverse pericardial sinusA pericardial passage behind the arterial roots
- Triangle of KochSurface landmarks around atrioventricular conduction tissue
Abdomen
12- Bare area of the liverAn extraperitoneal interface with the diaphragm
- Calot's triangleGallbladder-neck landmarks with two historical definitions
- Epiploic foramenPeritoneal connection behind the portal pedicle
- Hepatorenal recessDependent right subhepatic peritoneal pocket
- Lesser sac (omental bursa)Sliding peritoneal compartment behind the stomach
- Paracolic guttersLateral peritoneal routes beside the colon
- Perinephric space and renal coveringsThe renal fascial compartment and its internal planes
- PeritoneumContinuous serous surface lining walls and covering viscera
- Porta hepatisHepatic hilum for portal inflow and bile outflow
- Renal hilumThe medial entrance into the renal sinus
- RetroperitoneumPosterior extraperitoneal region with communicating tissue planes
- Subphrenic recessesPeritoneal spaces beneath the diaphragm
Pelvis
11- Deep perineal pouchThe sphincter region superior to the perineal membrane
- Ischioanal fossaCompressible tissue beside the anal sphincters
- PerineumThe region between the pelvic diaphragm and the skin
- Pudendal (Alcock's) canalA fascial route for the pudendal neurovascular bundle
- Rectouterine pouch (of Douglas)A dependent peritoneal recess behind the uterus
- Rectovesical pouchA peritoneal recess between male bladder and rectum
- Retropubic spaceThe extraperitoneal plane behind the pubic symphysis
- Spermatic cordThe testicular duct and vessels share an inguinal route
- Superficial perineal pouchErectile roots and muscles below the perineal membrane
- Tunica vaginalisA serous covering left by the testicular descent pathway
- Vesicouterine pouchThe anterior pelvic peritoneal reflection
Back
1Head & neck
21- Carotid sinusAn arterial stretch sensor for the baroreflex
- Central sulcusLandmark between the frontal and parietal lobes
- Cerebral aqueductMidbrain channel connecting the third and fourth ventricles
- Cisterna magnaLarge CSF cistern behind the lower brainstem
- Ethmoidal air cellsSmall sinuses between the nasal cavity and orbit
- Extradural (epidural) spaceDifferent relationships in the skull and vertebral canal
- Facial canalThe bony course of the facial nerve
- Fourth ventricleWhere ventricular CSF reaches the subarachnoid space
- Frontal sinusVariable air spaces above the medial orbits
- Lateral sulcusThe cleft containing the Sylvian cistern
- Lateral ventriclesCSF cavities shaped around deep cerebral structures
- Maxillary sinusA large sinus between the orbit and upper teeth
- Nasal cavityPaired chambers for breathing and smell
- Oral cavityA food-processing chamber with an outer vestibule
- Osteomeatal complexLinked drainage pathways around the middle meatus
- Piriform recessA swallowing channel on either side of the larynx
- Rima glottidisThe changing opening between the true vocal folds
- Sphenoid sinusA variable sinus close to the central skull base
- Subarachnoid spaceThe CSF compartment between arachnoid and pia
- Subdural spaceA pathological cleavage plane near the dura–arachnoid interface
- Third ventricleThe midline ventricular channel between diencephalic structures