‖ ˌpleuro-peritoˈneum, -ˈnæum Anat.
[mod.L., f. pleuro- + peritoneum.]
The serous membrane lining the body-cavity and enveloping the viscera in vertebrates below mammals: corresponding to the pleuræ and peritoneum in mammals. Also called simply peritoneum.
| 1875 Huxley & Martin Elem. Biol. (1877) 201 Note the smooth moist membrane (pleuroperitoneum) lining the inside of the body-cavity and covering the outside of the contained viscera. 1897 Allbutt's Syst. Med. III. 680 The possibility of a development of true carcinoma in connection with the pleuro-peritoneum is at once obvious. |