How to Remember Visceral vs. Parietal Pleura
You’ll never mix them up again.
If you have ever taken a human anatomy course, then you might remember learning about the visceral and parietal pleura. Visceral pleura is the membrane that covers each lung. Parietal pleura is the membrane that is attached to the thoracic cavity. This seems easy enough to remember, but for whatever reason, people mix these up all the time.
The easiest way to keep them straight is to simply understand that visceral pleura is the inner layer and parietal pleura is the outer layer. This can be learned visually by looking at a picture or model of a lung and seeing the visceral pleura as the inner layer and the parietal pleura as the outer layer. Typical studying strategies can also help — things like drawing the anatomy, outlining how different parts relate to each other, and explaining the anatomy out loud.
If you are still mixing up visceral and parietal pleura, here is another way to conceptualize these.
Grab two cups and a piece of paper.
Stack the two cups with the opening facing down. Crumple up the piece of paper, and put it under the two cups…
