FEMORAL HERNIA 



393 



Femoral Hernia. 



{Hernia Cruralis.) 



Femoral hernia is extremely rare in the clog. The ring is formed 

 by the upper end of the so-called femoral canal, and is formed by the 

 crural fascia, the external membrane forming the hernial covering. The 

 femoral canal of the dog is a long, three-cornered cavity in the median 

 surface of the upper part of the leg, which is surrounded front and back 

 by the inverted muscles of the upper thigh — that is to say, in front by 

 the sartorius muscle, and back by the long abductor, the large and short 

 abductor, and on its upper surface by the ilio-psoas, while the floor of 

 the cavity is formed by a portion of the muscles of the thighs and by the 

 crural fascia. Below the borders of the sartorius the abductors run 

 together at an acute angle (Fig. 131). This canal, as a rule, is filled with 

 masses of fat, nerves, and blood vessels. In cases of fracture of the 

 pelvis the intestines which leave the abdominal cavity, after having 

 followed the direction of the large blood vessels, locate themselves in this 



Fig. 131. — Middle section through the pelvis, showing the organs: a. Pelvis; h, coccygeal vertebra; 

 c, broad pelvic ligament; (/, anterior and, d', posterior portions of the rectum; e, bladder; /, /, seminal 

 vesicles; g, fold of the peritoneum. 



cavity and are covered by the peritoneum, the crural fascia, and external 

 membrane; but they may also under certain conditions penetrate 

 directly under the skin through an opening of the crural fascia. 



In the inner fascia of the thigh we find a soft swelling which has 

 more or less pain when the condition is examined and the disease has 

 been of recent origin, and in cases of strangulation. In the latter cases, 

 however, we see also a peculiar dragging motion of the thighs, with 

 lameness and symptoms of intestinal obstruction, such as vomiting, etc. 

 Herniotomy has to be performed according to the rules mentioned 



