Inguinal canal

Description:
The Inguinal Canal (canalis inguinalis; spermatic canal).—The inguinal canal contains the spermatic cord and the ilioinguinal nerve in the male, and the round ligament of the uterus and the ilioinguinal nerve in the female. It is an oblique canal about 4 cm. long, slanting downward and medialward, and placed parallel with and a little above the inguinal ligament; it extends from the abdominal inguinal ring to the subcutaneous inguinal ring. It is bounded, in front, by the integument and superficial fascia, by the aponeurosis of the Obliquus externus throughout its whole length, and by the Obliquus internus in its lateral third; behind, by the reflected inguinal ligament, the inguinal aponeurotic falx, the transversalis fascia, the extraperitoneal connective tissue and the peritoneum; above, by the arched fibers of Obliquus internus and Transversus abdominis; below, by the union of the transversalis fascia with the inguinal ligament, and at its medial end by the lacunar ligament.