abdomen

American  

[ab-duh-muhn, ab-doh-] / ˈæb də mən, æbˈdoʊ- /

noun

1. Anatomy, Zoology.

   1. the part of the body of a mammal between the thorax and the pelvis; belly.

   2. the cavity of this part of the body containing the stomach, intestines, etc.

   3. (in nonmammalian vertebrates) a region of the body corresponding to, but not coincident with, this part or cavity.

2. Entomology. the posterior section of the body of an arthropod, behind the thorax or the cephalothorax.

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abdomen British  

/ æbˈdɒmɪnəl, æbˈdəʊ-, ˈæbdəmən /

noun

1. the region of the body of a vertebrate that contains the viscera other than the heart and lungs. In mammals it is separated from the thorax by the diaphragm

2. the front or surface of this region; belly

3. (in arthropods) the posterior part of the body behind the thorax, consisting of up to ten similar segments

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abdomen Scientific  

/ ăb′də-mən /

1. In vertebrates, the portion of the body between the thorax and pelvis, containing the stomach, intestines, liver, and other organs. In mammals, the abdomen is separated from the thorax by the diaphragm.

2. In arthropods, the last, most posterior segment of the body.

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abdomen Cultural  

1. The part of the body between the thorax (chest) and pelvis that encloses the organs of the abdominal cavity; the belly.

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Other Word Forms

• abdominal adjective
• abdominally adverb
• postabdomen noun

Etymology

Origin of abdomen

1535–45; (< Middle French ) < Latin abdōmen belly

Example Sentences

A little more than a year ago Shiffrin was recovering from a surgery to repair a puncture in her abdomen after a crash in Vermont.

From The Wall Street Journal

Doctors opened her abdomen from her breast bone down, looking for more growths.

From Los Angeles Times

But some people can experience jaundice, dark urine, feeling very tired, nausea, vomiting and pain in the abdomen.

From BBC

In most cases, doctors diagnose the disease only after it has already spread widely throughout the abdomen.

From Science Daily

They first administered the drug into the abdomen to affect the entire body, and later injected it directly into the knee joint.

From Science Daily

Related Words

• belly
• gut
• midriff
• midsection
• tummy