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Inguinal canal
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The inguinal canals are the two passages in the anterior

abdominal wall which in men convey the spermatic cords and Inguinal canal
in women the round ligament of uterus. The inguinal canals
are larger and more prominent in men. There is one inguinal
canal on each side of the midline.

Contents
1 Structure
1.1 Walls
1.2 Development
2 Function Front of abdomen, showing surface markings for
3 Clinical signicance arteries and inguinal canal. (Inguinal canal is tube at
4 Additional images lower left.)
5 See also
6 References
7 External links

Structure
The inguinal canals are situated just above the medial half of
the inguinal ligament. In both sexes the canals transmit the
ilioinguinal nerves. The canals are approximately 3.75 to
4cm long., angled anteroinferiorly and medially.

A rst-order approximation is to visualize each canal as a The scrotum. On the left side the cavity of the
cylinder.[1] tunica vaginalis has been opened; on the right side
only the layers supercial to the Cremaster have
Walls been removed. (Right inguinal canal visible at
upper left.)
To help dene the boundaries, these canals are often further
Details
approximated as boxes with six sides. Not including the two
rings, the remaining four sides are usually called the "anterior Identiers
wall", "inferior wall ("oor")", "superior wall ("roof")", and Latin canalis inguinalis
"posterior wall".[2] These consist of the following: MeSH A01.047.412 (https://www.nlm.nih.gov/cgi/
mesh/2011/MB_cgi?mode=&term=Inguina
l+Canal)
TA A04.5.01.026 (http://www.unifr.ch/ifaa/Pub
lic/EntryPage/TA98%20Tree/Entity%20TA
98%20EN/04.5.01.026%20Entity%20TA9
8%20EN.htm)
FMA 19928 (http://xiphoid.biostr.washington.ed
u/fma/fmabrowser-hierarchy.html?fmaid=1
9928)
Anatomical terminology
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superior wall
(roof):
Medial crus of
aponeurosis of
external oblique
Musculoaponeurotic
arches of internal
oblique and
transverse
abdominal
Transversalis fascia
anterior wall:
aponeurosis of
external posterior wall:
oblique transversalis fascia
eshy part of conjoint tendon
internal (Inguinal
oblique falx,reected part of
(lateral third (inguinal canal) inguinal ligament,
of canal medial third of canal
only)[3] only)[4]
supercial deep inguinal ring
inguinal ring (lateral third of canal
(medial third only)[4]
of canal
only)[4]
inferior wall
(oor):
inguinal ligament
lacunar ligament
(medial third of
canal only)[4]
iliopubic tract
(lateral third of
canal only)[3]

Development
During development each gonad (ovary or testicle) descend from their starting point on the posterior abdominal
wall (para-aortically) from the labioscrotal swellings near the kidneys, down the abdomen, and through the
inguinal canals to reach the scrotum. Each testicle then descends through the abdominal wall into the scrotum,
behind the processus vaginalis (which later obliterates). Thus lymphatic spread from a testicular tumour is to
the para-aortic nodes rst, and not the inguinal nodes.

Function
The structures which pass through the canals differ between males and females:

in males: the spermatic cord[5] and its coverings + the ilioinguinal nerve.
in females: the round ligament of the uterus + the ilioinguinal nerve.

The classic description of the contents of the spermatic cords in the male are:

3 arteries: artery to vas deferens (or ductus deferens), testicular artery, cremasteric artery;
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3 fascial layers: external spermatic, cremasteric, and internal spermatic fascia;

3 other structures: pampiniform plexus, vas deferens (ductus deferens), testicular lymphatics;

3 nerves: genital branch of the genitofemoral nerve (L1/2), sympathetic and visceral afferent bres, ilioinguinal
nerve (N.B. outside spermatic cord but travels next to it)

Note that the ilioinguinal nerve passes through the supercial ring to descend into the scrotum, but does not
formally run through the canal.

Clinical signicance
Abdominal contents (potentially including intestine) can be abnormally displaced from the abdominal cavity.
Where these contents exit through the inguinal canal the condition is known as an indirect or oblique inguinal
hernia. This can also cause infertility. This condition is far more common in men than in women, owing to the
inguinal canal's small size in women.

A hernia that exits the abdominal cavity directly through the deep layers of the abdominal wall, thereby
bypassing the inguinal canal, is known as a direct inguinal hernia.

Additional images

Wikimedia Commons has

media related to Inguinal
canal.

The spermatic cord in Inguinal fossae

the inguinal canal.

See also
Supercial inguinal ring
Deep inguinal ring

References
1. "Gross Anatomy Image" (http://anatomy.med.umich.edu/atlas/abdo_wall64.html). Retrieved 2007-11-20.
2. Adam Mitchell; Drake, Richard; Gray, Henry David; Wayne Vogl (2005). Gray's anatomy for students.
Elsevier/Churchill Livingstone. p.260. ISBN0-443-06612-4.
3. Dalley, Arthur F.; Moore, Keith L. (2006). Clinically oriented anatomy. Hagerstown, MD: Lippincott Williams &
Wilkins. p.217. ISBN0-7817-3639-0.
4. Arthur F., II Dalley; Anne M. R. Agur. Grant's Atlas of Anatomy. Hagerstown, MD: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.
p.102. ISBN0-7817-4255-2.
5. "Anatomy Tables - Inguinal Region" (http://anatomy.med.umich.edu/gastrointestinal_system/inguinal_tables.html).
Retrieved 2007-11-20.

^ Adam Mitchell; Drake, Richard; Gray, Henry David; Wayne Vogl (2010). Gray's anatomy for students.
Elsevier/Churchill Livingstone. pp.286. ISBN 0-443-06612-4.
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External links
Anatomy photo:36:01-0102 (http://ect.downstate.edu/courseware/haonline/labs/l36/010102.htm) at the
SUNY Downstate Medical Center
Atlas image: abdo_wall63 (https://www.med.umich.edu/lrc/coursepages/m1/anatomy2010/html/atlas/abd
o_wall63.html) at the University of Michigan Health System - "The Male & Female Inguinal Canal"
Diagram at nurseminerva.co.uk (http://www.nurseminerva.co.uk/images/hernia2a.jpg)

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Inguinal_canal&oldid=789676608"

Categories: Abdomen

This page was last edited on 8 July 2017, at 21:01.

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