Visceral pleura
Pleura visceralis
RespiratoryOrgansThoraxLeft and right
View left in 3D View right in 3D
- What it is
- A thin, glistening serous membrane that tightly covers the lung surface and dips into the fissures between the lobes.
- Function
- Secretes and spreads pleural fluid so the lung glides smoothly against the chest wall during breathing.
- Size
- A single layer of mesothelial cells on connective tissue, roughly 30–80 µm thick.
- Clinical note
- The visceral pleura has no pain fibres; chest pain in pneumonia (pleurisy) starts only when inflammation reaches the parietal pleura.