Inguinal canal 429511 195083198 2008-03-01T08:42:51Z 202.83.165.86 /* Direction */ {{Infobox Anatomy | Name = inguinal canal | Latin = canalis inguinalis | GraySubject = 258 | GrayPage = 1239 | Image = Gray1227.png | Caption = Front of abdomen, showing surface markings for arteries and inguinal canal. (Inguinal canal is tube at lower left.) | Image2 = Gray1143.png | Caption2 = The [[scrotum]]. On the left side the cavity of the [[tunica vaginalis]] has been opened; on the right side only the layers superficial to the [[Cremaster]] have been removed. (Right [[inguinal canal]] visible at upper left.) | System = | MeshName = Inguinal+Canal | MeshNumber = A01.047.412 | }} The '''inguinal canal''' is a passage in the anterior (toward the front of the body) abdominal wall which in men conveys the [[spermatic cord]] and in women the [[Round ligament of uterus|round ligament]]. The inguinal canal is larger and more prominent in men. ==Site== The inguinal canal is situated just above the medial half of the inguinal ligament. ==Length== Approximately 4cm (1.57 inches). == Direction == It is oblique directed downwards, forwards and medially. ==Boundaries== A first-order approximation is to visualize the canal as a cylinder, stretching from the [[deep inguinal ring]] to the [[superficial inguinal ring]].<ref name="titleGross Anatomy Image">{{cite web |url=http://anatomy.med.umich.edu/atlas/abdo_wall64.html |title=Gross Anatomy Image |accessdate=2007-11-20 |format= |work=}}</ref> To help define the boundaries, the canal is often further approximated as a box with six sides. Not including the two rings, the remaining four sides are usually called the "anterior wall", "posterior wall", "roof", and "floor".<ref name="isbn0-443-06612-4">{{cite book |author=Adam Mitchell; Drake, Richard; Gray, Henry David; Wayne Vogl |title=Gray's anatomy for students |publisher=Elsevier/Churchill Livingstone |location= |year=2005 |pages=260 |isbn=0-443-06612-4 |oclc= |doi=}}</ref> These consist of the following: {| class="wikitable" | || '''superior wall (roof):'''<BR>[[internal oblique]]<BR>[[transversus abdominis]] || |- | '''anterior wall:'''<BR>[[aponeurosis]] of [[external oblique]]<BR>aponeurosis of [[internal oblique]] (lateral third of canal only)<ref name="isbn0-7817-3639-0">{{cite book |author=Dalley, Arthur F.; Moore, Keith L. |title=Clinically oriented anatomy |publisher=Lippincott Williams & Wilkins |location=Hagerstwon, MD |year=2006 |pages=217 |isbn=0-7817-3639-0 |oclc= |doi=}}</ref><BR>[[superficial inguinal ring]] (medial third of canal only)<ref name="isbn0-7817-4255-2">{{cite book |author=Arthur F., II Dalley; Anne M. R. Agur |title=Grant's Atlas of Anatomy |publisher=Lippincott Williams & Wilkins |location=Hagerstwon, MD |year= |pages=102 |isbn=0-7817-4255-2 |oclc= |doi=}}</ref> || ''(inguinal canal)'' || '''posterior wall:'''<BR>[[transversalis fascia]]<BR>[[conjoint tendon]] (medial third of canal only)<ref name="isbn0-7817-4255-2">{{cite book |author=Arthur F., II Dalley; Anne M. R. Agur |title=Grant's Atlas of Anatomy |publisher=Lippincott Williams & Wilkins |location=Hagerstwon, MD |year= |pages=102 |isbn=0-7817-4255-2 |oclc= |doi=}}</ref><BR>[[deep inguinal ring]] (lateral third of canal only)<ref name="isbn0-7817-4255-2">{{cite book |author=Arthur F., II Dalley; Anne M. R. Agur |title=Grant's Atlas of Anatomy |publisher=Lippincott Williams & Wilkins |location=Hagerstwon, MD |year= |pages=102 |isbn=0-7817-4255-2 |oclc= |doi=}}</ref> |- | || '''inferior wall (floor):'''<BR>[[inguinal ligament]]<BR>[[lacunar ligament]] (medial third of canal only)<ref name="isbn0-7817-4255-2">{{cite book |author=Arthur F., II Dalley; Anne M. R. Agur |title=Grant's Atlas of Anatomy |publisher=Lippincott Williams & Wilkins |location=Hagerstwon, MD |year= |pages=102 |isbn=0-7817-4255-2 |oclc= |doi=}}</ref><BR>[[iliopubic tract]] (lateral third of canal only)<ref name="isbn0-7817-3639-0">{{cite book |author=Dalley, Arthur F.; Moore, Keith L. |title=Clinically oriented anatomy |publisher=Lippincott Williams & Wilkins |location=Hagerstwon, MD |year=2006 |pages=217 |isbn=0-7817-3639-0 |oclc= |doi=}}</ref> || |} One way to remember these structures is with the mnemonic "MALT", starting at the top and going counterclockwise: * M - '''m'''uscles * A - '''a'''poneuroses * L - '''l'''igaments * T - '''t'''ransversalis/'''t'''endon == Contents == * in males : the [[spermatic cord]]<ref name="titleAnatomy Tables - Inguinal Region">{{cite web |url=http://anatomy.med.umich.edu/gastrointestinal_system/inguinal_tables.html |title=Anatomy Tables - Inguinal Region |accessdate=2007-11-20 |format= |work=}}</ref> and its coverings + the [[ilioinguinal nerve]]. * in females : the [[round ligament of the uterus]] + the [[ilioinguinal nerve]]. The classic description of the contents of inguinal canal in the male are: 3 arteries: artery to vas, testicular artery, cremasteric artery 3 fascial layers: external spermatic, cremasteric, internal spermatic 3 other vessels: pampiniform plexus, vas deferens, lymphatics 1 nerve: gential branch of the genitofemoral nerve (L1/2) The ilioinguinal nerve passes through the superficial ring to descend into the scrotum, but does not formally run through the canal. ==Development== During development gonads (ovaries or testes) descend from their starting point on the posterior abdominal wall (para-aortically) and near the [[kidneys]] down the abdomen and through the inguinal canal to reach the [[scrotum]]. The testis then decends 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 first, and not the inguinal nodes. ==Disorders== 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 inguinal hernia]]. 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== <gallery> Image:Gray1146.png|The spermatic cord in the inguinal canal. Image:Inguinal fossae.PNG|Inguinal fossae </gallery> ==See also== * [[Superficial inguinal ring]] * [[Deep inguinal ring]] ==References== {{reflist}} ==External links== * {{SUNYAnatomyLabs|36|01|01|02}} * {{UMichAtlas|abdo_wall63}} - "The Male & Female Inguinal Canal" * [http://www.nurseminerva.co.uk/images/hernia2a.jpg Diagram at nurseminerva.co.uk] {{Torso general}} [[Category:Abdomen]] [[de:Leistenkanal]] [[nl:Lieskanaal]] [[pl:KanaƂ pachwinowy]] [[pt:Canal inguinal]]