Abdominopelvic

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. Relating to or involving both the abdominal cavity and the pelvic region of the body together
2. Describing anatomy, structures or procedures that concern the belly and the lower pelvic area as a combined region
3. Of or pertaining to the lower trunk of the body, encompassing the abdomen and the pelvis considered jointly

Etymology: "Abdominopelvic" is a plain compound, built from "abdomino-", a combining form of the Latin "abdomen" (the belly, or the soft part of the body below the chest), and "pelvic", the adjective from "pelvis," which is the Latin word for a basin, borrowed into English for the bony ring of the hips. Joined together, the two parts describe something that spans both the abdominal cavity and the pelvic cavity, which lie one above the other in the trunk. The compound follows the pattern of modern scientific and medical English, where Latin and Greek combining forms are stitched together to name anatomical regions with precision. It is an adjective used mostly in anatomy and medicine, as in "abdominopelvic cavity," the single large space that contains the digestive, urinary and reproductive organs. The formation is transparent, so its meaning can be read straight from its parts.