3. Hernias Flashcards
What are the chief sites of hernia?
Inguinal, femoral, and umbilical.
What are the potential areas of weakness for hernias?
Inguinal canal, femoral ring, and umbilicus.
What is the inguinal canal?
An oblique passage that extends in a downward and medial direction.
Where does the inguinal canal begin?
At the deep inguinal ring.
Where does the inguinal canal end?
The superficial inguinal ring, 4cm away from the deep inguinal ring.
What passes through the inguinal canal in men and women?
Spermatic cord in men, and the round ligament of the uterus in women. The ilioinguinal nerve passes through part of the canal in both sexes.
What makes up the floor of the inguinal canal?
The inguinal ligament and medially, the lacunar ligament.
What makes up the roof of the inguinal canal?
The internal oblique, transversus abdominus and transveralis fascia.
What makes up the posterior wall of the inguinal canal?
The transversalis fascia and medially, the conjoint tendon.
What makes up the anterior wall of the inguinal canal?
The aponeurosis of the external oblique.
What is a direct inguinal hernia?
It protrudes into the inguinal canal through a weakened area in the tranversalis fascia near the medial inguinal fossa within Hesselbach’s triangle.
What are the borders of the Hesselbach’s triangle?
Inferiorly - medial half of the inguinal ligament. Medially - lower lateral border of rectus abdominis. Laterally - inferior epigastric artery.
What is an indirect inguinal hernia?
It protrudes through the deep inguinal ring, within the diverging arms of the transveralis fascial sling.
What are most indirect inguinal hernias a result of?
Failure of embryonic closure of the deep inguinal ring after the testicle has passed through it.
Where do epigastric hernias occur?
In the epigastric region, in the midline between the xiphoid process and the umbilicus, through linea alba.
