PLATE LXI.-LXII. 

 SUPERFICIAL VIEW OF THE FRONT OF THE ABDOMEN. 



This plate shows a dissection of the front of the abdomen : the left side after 

 removal of the subcutaneous tissue ; and the right with the external oblique diviilfil 

 longitudinally near the junction of muscle and aponeurosis, and the ends reflected to 

 show the internal oblique. It also shows well the way in which the external oblique 

 muscle arises from the ribs by means of 

 serrations. The deep layer of the super- 

 licial fascia is thin and membranous, re- 

 quiring great care in dissection to preserve 

 it. It is called the fascia of Scarpa, and 

 unlike the superficial layer, which is con- 

 tinuous with that of the limbs, it is bound 

 down to the fascia lata along the line of 

 Poupart's ligament, passing centrally into 

 the dartoid tissue of the scrotum, becoming 

 inseparable from it, and thence is continued 

 into the deep layer of the superficial perineal 

 fascia. Thus extravasation of urine can 

 pass freely from the perineum into the 

 scrotum and on to the abdomen, but is 

 prevented from creeping down tiie legs. 



The external abdominal ring is a 

 triangular interval left between the fibres 

 of the aponeurosis of the external oblique. 

 The upper edge or pillar is sharp, and 

 passes to its insertion in front of the body 

 of the pubes ; while the lower edge or pillar 

 is rounded (it is the inner end of Poupart's ligament), and is attached to the spine 

 of the pubes. The base of the triangle is formed by the outar part of the pubic crest. 

 Through the ring issues the cord in the male, and the round ligament in the female. 



The two pillars are bound together by the intercolumnar fascia, which also forms a 

 covering to the cord and testis under the name of the external spermatic fa?cia. 



NOT*. In this diagram the artist has carried the outline of the splenic flexure too much to the left. 

 On reference to the section given on page 126, it will be seen that the summit cf the splenic flexure has 

 been cut by the mid-Poupart perpendicular line. 



