458 PRACTICAL ANATOMY. 



external inguinal ring. Beneath the transversalis is the 

 trarisversalis fascia, which presents, about midway be- 

 tween the anterior superior spine of the ilium and the 

 spine of the pubes, the internal inguinal ring, a round 

 aperture which will admit the point of the little finger. 

 It leads into a funnel-shaped prolongation over the sper- 

 matic cord (in the female, the round ligament). This 

 funnel-shaped continuation is known as the infundibuli- 

 form process of the transverse fascia. 



The inguinal canal is about two inches long. It be- 

 gins at the internal inguinal ring and terminates at the 

 external inguinal ring. It transmits the spermatic cord 

 in the male, and the round ligament in the female. The 

 testicle in foetal life is lodged within the abdominal 

 cavity, out of which it is drawn by the contraction of a 

 fibro-muscular cord, the gubernaculum, which is attached 

 to the bottom of the scrotal sac. In its descent the testi- 

 cle pushes before it a fold of peritoneum, which ultimately 

 becomes the tunica vaginalis. As it passes through the 

 opening in the transverse fascia it carries with it a proc- 

 ess, the infundibuliform, which surrounds the testes and 

 cord, and the testicle in its further descent carries along 

 some of the fibres of the internal oblique, forming the 

 loops of the cremaster muscle. Generally at birth the 

 testicle is within the scrotum, and the communication 

 between the tunica vaginalis and the peritoneal cavity 

 is closed. The descent of indirect inguinal hernia follows 

 the course of the descent of the testicle; hence, the 

 coverings for oblique hernia are as follow : Peritoneal 

 sac, infundibuliform process of transverse fascia, cremaster 

 muscle and fascia, intercolumnar fascia, superficial fascia, 

 and skin. 



In direct inguinal hernia the gut does not enter the 

 internal inguinal ring; it forces the structures of the 



