THE PEL VIC FASCIA 



451 



surface of the body of the pubis three-fourths of an inch higher than the pelvic 

 fascia. Traced internally it approaches the bladder and rectum; here it splits 

 into several layers. The upper layer invests the bladder and constitutes the 

 lateral true ligament of the bladder; another prolongation invests the seminal 

 vesicle, passes between the bladder and rectum, being continuous with the same 

 fascia on the opposite side; a third investment is also prolonged downward on 

 the rectum within the insertion of the Levator ani muscle. In front of the bladder 

 the fascia closely ensheathes the prostate gland and prostate plexus of veins, 

 forming the capsule of the prostate. That portion of the fascia which is attached 

 to the body of the pubis passes backward as a narrow cord-like band to the upper 

 part of the prostate and upper part of the neck of the bladder; this is the anterior 

 true ligament of the bladder, or puboprostatic ligament. 



FIG. 343. Side view of the pelvic viscera of the male subject, showing the pelvic and perineal fasciae. 



The Levator ani (Fig. 345) is a broad, thin muscle, situated on the side of the 

 pelvis. It is attached to the inner surface of the side of the true pelvis, and 

 descends to unite with its fellow of the opposite side. Together these structures 

 form the greater part of the floor of the pelvic cavity. They support the viscera 

 in this cavity and surround the various structures which pass through it. This 

 muscle arises, in front, from the posterior surface of the bodv of the pubis on the 

 outer side of the svmphvsis; behind, from the inner surface of the spine of the 

 jschium; and between these two points, from the pelvic fascia. Posteriorly, 

 this fascial origin corresponds, more or less closely, with the white line (page 450), 

 but in front the muscle arises from the fascia at a varying distance above the white 

 line, in some cases reaching nearly as high as the canal for the obturator vessels 

 and nerve. The fibres pass downward to the middle line of the floor of the pelvis; 

 the most posterior are inserted into the sides of the last two segments of the coccyx: 

 those placed more anteriorly unite with the muscle of the opposite side, in a median 



