1. A reference to feeling something bodily: Mike and Jimmy had visceral sensations as they were riding on the roller coaster.
2. Pertaining to a feeling (not necessarily factually based) about a situation, etc.; a gut reaction to something: Watching a meteor shower in the night sky gave Carol a visceral feeling of being close to the heavens.

The facial skeleton that encloses the mouth and nose, and helps to form, with the cerebral cranium, the orbit that encloses the eyes.

It includes the movable mandible (lower jawbone hinged to open the mouth) and the hyoid bone that supports the tongue and is suspended from the base of the skull.

The portion of the skull which forms the face and the jaws: The plastic surgeon carefully reconstructed the visceral cranium of the patient who had been severely injured in a car accident.

Severe, recurring pains as the result of the degeneration of the spinal cord in anyone who has been suffering from syphilis: Such a visceral crisis is a complication which affects the spinal cord, causing abnormalities of sensations; sharp pains, incoordination, and incontinence; which appear several years after the infection.

Another version that describes the terrible conditions of this visceral crisis also involves what is known as tabes dorsalis which includes the lightning-like pain attacks, ataxia (wobbliness), deterioration of the nerves to the eyes (the optic nerves) leading to blindness, urinary incontinence, loss of the sense of one's physical balance, and the degeneration of the joints or the inability to feel pain because of nerve damage.

An abnormal position of a body part or an organ; especially at the time of birth: The pediatric surgeon performed delicate surgery on the infant because the visceral ectopia of the infant's bladder was down within the abdominal cavity.

Smooth or involuntary tendons that function to produce movements as parts of the body: The visceral muscles consist of fibers which move the internal organs; such as, the digestive tract, blood vessels, and the ducts leading from the glands.

No one has any conscious control over the visceral muscles.

While the skeletal muscle fibers are arranged in bundles, the smooth visceral muscle forms sheets of fibers as it wraps around tubes and vessels.

A fibrous and membranous sac which surrounds the heart: The pericardium is composed of two layers, the visceral pericardium, which is closest to the heart; and the parietal ("wall") pericardium, that is lining the outer fibrous coat.

The pericardial cavity, between the visceral pericardium and the parietal pericardium; normally contains 10 to 15 mL (0.33814 to 0.50721 US fluid ounces) of pericardial fluid, which lubricates the membranes while the heart is beating.

The inner layer of a multilayered membrane that protects and holds the organs of the abdominal cavity in place: The visceral peritoneum forms a complete covering that is wrapped around the internal organs including the lower part of the esophagus, the stomach, small intestine, colon, rectum, liver, gallbladder, pancreas, spleen, kidneys, and bladder.

A double-folded membrane that covers each lung: The outer layer of the pleura, closest to the ribs, is the parietal pleura, while the inner layer, which is close to the lung, is the visceral pleura.

A thin, watery fluid, called the serous secretion keeps the pleura from being dry and facilitates the movements of the lungs within the chest or thorax.

An unpleasant feeling that comes from the internal organs, such as pain or an awareness of distention or fullness: Mr. Simon complained to his doctor about the visceral sensation which he experienced in his abdomen, especially after eating a big meal.

The bony formations of the body that enclose pelvic and thoracic organs: The pelvis, ribs, and the cranium (head) and sternum (breastbone), are parts of the visceral skeleton.