Belly

Belly
: That part of the body that contains all of the structures between the chest and the pelvis. Also called the abdomen. The belly (or abdomen) is separated anatomically from the chest by the diaphragm, the powerful muscle spanning the body cavity below the lungs. The belly contains a host of organs including the stomach, small intestine, colon, rectum, liver, spleen, pancreas, kidneys, appendix, gallbladder, and bladder. The word "abdomen" has a curious story behind it. It comes from the Latin "abdodere", to hide. The idea was that whatever was eaten was hidden in the abdomen.
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1. The abdomen. 2. The wide swelling part of a muscle. SYN: venter (2) [TA]. 3. Popularly, the stomach or womb. [O.E. belig, bag]
- anterior b. of digastric muscle [TA] the portion of the digastric muscle that extends anteriorly from the intermediate tendon, and attaches to the posterior aspect of the mandible. SYN: venter anterior musculi digastrici [TA].
- inferior b. of omohyoid muscle [TA] the inferior b. of the omohyoid muscle, attached to the superior border of the scapula. SYN: venter inferior musculi omohyoidei [TA].
- bellies of omohyoid muscle inferior b. of omohyoid muscle, superior b. of omohyoid muscle.
- posterior b. of digastric muscle [TA] portion of digastric muscle posterior to the intermediate tendon, attaching to the digastric groove of the temporal bone. SYN: venter posterior musculi digastrici [TA].
- prune b. SYN: abdominal muscle deficiency syndrome.
- superior b. of omohyoid muscle [TA] the superior b. of the omohyoid muscle, attached to the hyoid bone. SYN: venter superior musculi omohyoidei [TA].

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bel·ly 'bel-ē n, pl bellies
1 a) ABDOMEN (1a)
b) the undersurface of an animal's body
c) WOMB, UTERUS
d) the stomach and its adjuncts
2) the enlarged fleshy body of a muscle

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n.
1. the abdomen or abdominal cavity.
2. the central fleshy portion of a muscle.

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bel·ly (belґe) 1. abdomen. 2. the fleshy contractile part of a muscle (venter [TA]).

Belly of biceps brachii muscle.


Medical dictionary. 2011.

Synonyms:

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Belly — Bel ly (b[e^]l l[y^]), n.; pl. {Bellies} ( l[i^]z). [OE. bali, bely, AS. belg, b[ae]lg, b[ae]lig, bag, bellows, belly; akin to Icel. belgr bag, bellows, Sw. b[ a]lg, Dan. b[ae]lg, D. & G. balg, cf. W. bol the paunch or belly, dim. boly, Ir. bolg …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Belly — Saltar a navegación, búsqueda Belly Información personal Nombre real Ahmad Balshe …   Wikipedia Español

  • Belly — may refer to: *(slang/colloquial) The abdomen, the part of the body between the pelvis and the thorax or, similarly, to the stomach **A beer belly, an overhang of fat above the waist, presumably caused by regular beer ingestion. **Belly dance… …   Wikipedia

  • Belly — Годы 1991 1996 Страна …   Википедия

  • belly up — {v.}, {informal} To go bankrupt, become afunctional; to die. * /Uncompetitive small businesses must eventually all belly up./ …   Dictionary of American idioms

  • belly up — {v.}, {informal} To go bankrupt, become afunctional; to die. * /Uncompetitive small businesses must eventually all belly up./ …   Dictionary of American idioms

  • belly — [bel′ē] n. pl. bellies [ME beli < OE belg, leather bag, purse, bellows < IE base * bhelĝh , to swell, bag (< * bhel , to inflate) > Ir bolg, sack, belly, ON bylgja, billow, Goth balgs, leather bottle] 1. the lower front part of the… …   English World dictionary

  • belly up to — (US sl) To go directly or purposefully towards • • • Main Entry: ↑belly * * * belly up to [phrasal verb] belly up to (someone or something) US, informal : to walk to or toward (someone or something) The men bellied up to the bar. • • • …   Useful english dictionary

  • belly up — el ly up , belly up el ly up , a. [from analogy to the position of a floating dead fish.] defunct; bankrupt; used mostly of commercial organizations; often used in the phrase {go belly up}, i. e. to go bankrupt. [PJC] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • belly-up — el ly up , belly up el ly up , a. [from analogy to the position of a floating dead fish.] defunct; bankrupt; used mostly of commercial organizations; often used in the phrase {go belly up}, i. e. to go bankrupt. [PJC] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • belly up — bel‧ly up [ˌbeli ˈʌp] adverb informal FINANCE COMMERCE go belly up if a company goes belly up, it stops trading because it cannot pay its debts …   Financial and business terms

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