Paravesical fossa

Paravesical fossa
The peritoneum of the male pelvis. (The urinary bladder is the swelling at the center, and the paravesical fossa is visible on the right and left of it, though it is only labeled on the left.)
Latin fossa paravesicalis
Gray's subject #256 1154

The peritoneum of the anterior pelvic wall covers the superior surface of the bladder, and on either side of this viscus forms a depression, termed the paravesical fossa, which is limited laterally by the fold of peritoneum covering the ductus deferens.

The size of this fossa is dependent on the state of distension of the bladder; when the bladder is empty, a variable fold of peritoneum, the plica vesicalis transversa, divides the fossa into two portions.

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This article was originally based on an entry from a public domain edition of Gray's Anatomy. As such, some of the information contained within it may be outdated.