OBLIQUE INGUINAL HERNIA. 



1049 



INGUINAL HERNIA. 



Inguinal hernia is that form of protrusion which makes its way through the 

 abdomen in the inguinal region. 



There are two principal varieties of inguinal hernia external or oblique, and 

 internal or direct. 



External or oblique inguinal hernia, the more frequent of the two, takes the 

 same course as the spermatic cord. It is called external from the neck of the sac 

 being on the outer or iliac side of the deep epigastric artery. 



Internal or direct inguinal hernia does not follow the same course as the cord, 

 but protrudes through the abdominal wall on the inner or pubic side of the deep 

 epigastric artery. 



Oblique Inguinal Hernia. 



In oblique inguinal hernia the intestine escapes from the abdominal cavity at 

 the internal ring, pushing before it a pouch of peritoneum, which forms the hernial 



FIG. 583. Oblique inguinal hernia, showing its various coverings, 

 the Royal College of Surgeons.) 



(From a preparation in the Museum of 



sac (Fig. 584, A). As it enters the inguinal canal it receives an investment from 

 the subserous areolar tissue, and is enclosed in the infundibuliform process of the 

 transversalis fascia. In passing along the inguinal canal it displaces upward the 

 arched fibres of the Transversalis and Internal oblique muscles, and is surrounded 

 by the fibres of the Cremaster. It then passes along the front of the cord, and 

 escapes from the inguinal canal at the external ring, receiving an investment from 



