SPERMATIC CANAL INTERNAL RING. 



763 



The fascia transversalis is a thin aponeurotic membrane, which lies between 

 the inner surface of the Transversalis muscle and the peritoneum. It forms part 

 of the general layer of fascia which lines the interior of the abdominal and pelvic 

 cavities, and is directly continuous with the iliac and pelvic fasciae. 



In the inguinal region, the transversalis fascia is thick and dense in structure, 

 and joined by fibres from the aponeurosis of the Transversalis ; but it becomes 

 thin and cellular as it ascends to the Diaphragm. Below, it has the following 

 attachments : external to the femoral vessels, it is connected to the posterior margin 

 of Poupart's ligament, and is there continuous- with the iliac fascia ; internal to 

 these vessels it is thin, and attached to the pubes and pectineal line, behind the 

 conjoined tendon, with which it is united ; and, corresponding to the point where 

 the femoral vessels pass into the thigh, this fascia descends in front of them, 

 forming; the anterior wall of the crural sheath. 



Fig. 382. Inguinal Hernia, showing the Transversalis Muscle, the Transversalis Fascia, and the 



Internal Abdominal Ring. 



The Internal Abdominal ring is situated in the transversalis fascia, mid\vav 

 between the anterior superior spine of the ilium and the spine of the pubes, and 

 about half an inch above Poupart's ligamfent. It is of an oval form, the extremi- 

 ties of the oval directed upwards and downwards, varies in size in different 

 subjects, and is much larger in the male than the female. It is bounded, above, 

 by the arched fibres of the Transversalis muscle, and, internally, by the epigastric 

 vessels. It transmits the spermatic cord in the male, and the round ligament in 

 the female; and from its circumference, a thin, funnel-shaped membrane, the 

 infundibuliform or transversalis fascia is continued round the cord and testis, 

 inclosing them in a distinct pouch. When the sac of an oblique inguinal hernia 

 passes through the internal ring, the transversalis fascia forms one of its 

 coverings. 



Between the transversalis fascia and the peritoneum is a quantity of loose 

 areolar tissue. In some subjects it is of considerable thickness, and loaded with 



