Name the two major organs located in the thoracic cavity.

• A. Lungs and Heart
• B. Liver and Spleen
• C. Stomach and Pancreas
• D. Kidneys and Bladder

Answer: (A)

The thoracic cavity is the chest space bounded by the rib cage and the diaphragm, and its most prominent contents are the lungs and the heart. The lungs are paired organs whose main job is gas exchange—taking in oxygen and removing carbon dioxide—so they occupy most of the space on each side of the chest. The heart sits in the central compartment called the mediastinum, protected by the pericardial sac, and acts as the body’s pump to move blood through the lungs for oxygenation and then out to the rest of the body. Other organs listed—like the liver, spleen, stomach, pancreas, kidneys, and bladder—lie in the abdominal or pelvic regions, not in the thoracic cavity. So the two organs meant by this question are the lungs and the heart.