INGUINAL AND FEMORAL CANALS 371 



HUNTER'S CANAL (ADDUCTOR CANAL) 



This is a passage from the front of the thigh around the medial 

 side to the posterior, beginning at the apex of Scarpa's triangle and 

 ending in the popliteal space by an opening in the adductor magnus 

 muscle. The femoral artery passes through this canal, with the 

 femoral vein on the medial side of the artery. The long saphenous 

 nerve is sometimes within the canal and sometimes outside it. 



THE POPLITEAL SPACE 



This is a deep diamond-shaped space behind the knee-joint. 

 Its floor is formed, from above downward, by the popliteal surface 

 of the femur, the posterior ligament of the joint, and the popliteus 

 muscle. The boundaries of the upper half of the space are made 

 by the biceps tendon on the lateral side, and the semitendinosus 

 and semimembranosus on the medial side. The boundaries of the 

 lower half are the lateral and medial heads of the gastrocnemius. 

 These muscles are all very prominent, making the space deep. 

 The popliteal space owes its importance to the large vessels and 

 nerves which it contains the popliteal artery, the popliteal vein, 

 and tibial and common peroneal nerves. They are all deeply 

 situated, the artery being the deepest, and are imbedded in adipose 

 tissue and covered with strong fascia, being thus well protected. 



THE INGUINAL RINGS AND INGUINAL CANAL 



There is an opening in the aponeurosis of the external oblique 

 muscle just above the pubic bone, which is called the subcutaneous 

 inguinal ring, being under the skin in the inguinal region. 



There is an opening in the transfer salis fascia, half an inch 

 above the mid-point of the inguinal ligament. This is called the 

 abdominal inguinal ring, opening into the abdominal cavity in 

 the inguinal region. The passage from one ring to the other is the 

 inguinal canal. 



The internal oblique and transversus muscles form the conjoined 

 tendon immediately behind the subcutaneous ring, and their lower 

 muscle fibers arch over the canal, forming its upper boundary. 



THE FEMORAL RING AND FEMORAL CANAL 



The femoral ring (annulusfemorale) is a weak place in the pelvic 

 wall, under the inguinal ligament, where the femoral vessels do not 



