Lecture 15: Muscles of the Abdominal Wall Flashcards
What walls is the abdominal wall subdivided into for descriptive purposes?
Anterior wall, right and left lateral walls, and posterior walls
What are the muscles in the anterolateral abdominal wall?
3 pairs of flat muscles - External oblique - Internal oblique - Tranversus abdominus 1 pair of vertical muscles - Rectus abdominus
What is the function of the anterolateral abdominal wall muscles?
- compress and support the abdominal organs
What are the fibre direction of the 3 pairs of flat muscles?
External oblique: anteroinferior (“hands in pockets”)
Internal oblique: anterosuperior
Transversus abdominus: horizontal
What are the functions of the 3 pairs of flat muscles?
- compress and support the abdominal viscera
- flex and rotate the trunk
What’s an aponeurosis?
A thin, flat sheet of tendon
What’s linea alba?
a white line
where all 3 flat muscles’ aponeuroses meet in the midline
What’s the rectus abdominus and where does it run?
A bilateral muscle that runs vertically between the ribs and the public symphysis
What is the rectus abdominus characterized by?
Tendinous intersections that create the separation of the muscle that we often refer to as the “6-pack”
The inguinal ligament passes from the _____ to the _____.
ASIS to the public tubercle.
What is the diaphragm?
A domed muscle that separated the thorax from the abdomen.
What’s the central tendon?
Where the muscle fibres converge and support the weight of the heart
What are the 3 openings in the diaphragm?
1) Caval opening at T8 (for the inferior vena cava)
2) Esophageal hiatus at T10 (for the esophagus)
3) Aortic hiatus at T12 (For the aorta)
What are the 3 openings in the diaphragm for?
Passage of major structures from the thorax to the abdomen and vice versa
What are the 5 ligaments in the diaphragm?
- midline median arcuate ligament (arches over abdominal aorta and forms aortic hiatus)
- bilateral medial arcuate ligament (arches over psoas major)
- bilateral lateral arcuate ligament (arches over quadratus lumborum)