Medial umbilical ligament

Medial umbilical ligament

The peritoneum of the male pelvis. (Medial umbilical ligament labeled at bottom left.)

Posterior view of the anterior abdominal wall in its lower half. The peritoneum is in place, and the various cords are shining through.
Details
Latin Chorda arteriae umbilicalis,
Ligamentum umbilicale mediale
Dorlands
/Elsevier
l_09/12493508

Anatomical terminology

The medial umbilical ligament (or cord of umbilical artery) is a paired structure found in human anatomy. It is on the deep surface of the anterior abdominal wall, and is covered by the medial umbilical folds (plicae umbilicales mediales). It should not be confused with the median umbilical ligament, a different structure that represents the remnant of the embryonic urachus.

Origins

It represents the remnant of the fetal umbilical arteries, which serves no purpose in humans after birth, except for the part that becomes the adult umbilical artery.

Functions

It may be used as a landmark for surgeons exploring the medial inguinal fossa during laparoscopic inguinal hernia repair. Other than this, it has no purpose in an adult and it may be cut or damaged with impunity.

Relations

The supravesical fossa, and therefore a supravesical hernia, is medial to this structure. The medial inguinal fossa, and therefore a direct inguinal hernia, is lateral to it.

See also

External links

Additional images


This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Sunday, January 11, 2015. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.