Suspensory ligament of the ovary

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Ligament: Suspensory ligament of the ovary
Uterus and ovary, seen from behind. The suspensory ligament of the ovary (not labeled) is shown incompletely and in section; it surrounds the ovarian vessels (labeled).
Latin ligamentum suspensorium ovarii
Gray's subject #266 1254
From ovary
To lateral wall of the pelvis
Dorlands/Elsevier l_09/12493199

The suspensory ligament of the ovary, also infundibulopelvic ligament (commonly abbreviated IP ligament or simply IP), is a fold of peritoneum[1] that extends out from the ovary to the wall of the pelvis.

Some sources consider it a part of the broad ligament of uterus[2] while other sources just consider it a "termination" of the ligament.[3]

The suspensory ligament is directed upward over the iliac vessels.

Contents

[edit] Contents

It contains the ovarian artery, ovarian vein,[1] ovarian plexus, [4] and lymphatic vessels.[3]

[edit] Composition

The suspensory ligament of the ovary is one continuous tissue that connects the ovary to the wall of the pelvis. There are separate names for the two regions of this tissue.

  • In the anterior region, the suspensory ligament is attached to the wall of the pelvis via a continuous tissue called peritoneum.
  • In the more posterior region, the suspensory ligament is attached to the ovary via a continuous tissue call the broad ligament.

In sum, the suspensory ligament consists of a single connective tissue from that has different regional notations, the peritoneum and the broad ligament.

[edit] Peritoneal relationship

pelvic inlet
pelvic inlet

One must understand that most of the abdominal cavity is lined by a double-membranous sac called peritoneum . The interior is called the peritoneal cavity, this is the location of all 'intra-peritoneal' organs (disambiguation: retro-peritoneal organs ). The most inferior extent of the peritoneum covers the pelvic inlet; in females, this region of the peritoneum is referred to as the 'broad ligament'.

[edit] Development

The suspensory ligament originates from the mesonephros, which, in turn, originates from the Wolffian duct.

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b Norman/Georgetown pelvis
  2. ^ l_09/12493199 at Dorland's Medical Dictionary
  3. ^ a b SUNY Labs 43:03-0300
  4. ^ suspensory+ligament+of+ovary at eMedicine Dictionary

[edit] External links

This article was originally based on an entry from a public domain edition of Gray's Anatomy. As such, some of the information contained herein may be outdated. Please edit the article if this is the case, and feel free to remove this notice when it is no longer relevant.