840 



THE MUSCLES AND FASCIAE OF THE TKUNK. 



and the neck of the bladder. Between the two ligaments the fascia is thin and 

 depressed, forming a small pouch which is occupied by some loose fat and areolar 

 tissue. On the outer side of the anterior ligament, the part of the fascia which 

 descends to the side of the bladder and prostate is known as the lateral true ligament 

 of the bladder ; and farther back, the part joining the side of the rectum has been 

 called the ligament of the rectum. There is also seen on the upper surface of the 

 recto-vesical fascia another thickened band, which springs from the pubis in common 

 with the anterior true ligament of the bladder, and passes backwards and outwards 

 to the ischial spine, thus strengthening the floor of the pelvic cavity, and assisting 

 materially in the support of the bladder. This is the so-called white line of the pelvic 



Fig. 298. DIAGRAM OP A SAGITTAL 



SECTION OF THE PELVIS, A LITTLE 

 TO THE LEFT OF THE MEDIAN 

 PLANE, TO SHOW THE ARRANGE- 

 MENT OF THE PELVIC FASCIA, &0. 



(G. D. T.) \ 



a, a, section of sacrum and coccyx ; 

 b, section of pubis ; c, bladder ; d, pro- 

 state gland, above which are the vesi- 

 cula seminalis and vas deferens cut 

 obliquely ; e, corpus spongiosum ure- 

 thrse, covered by the bulbo-cavernosus 

 muscle ; /, rectum ; g, external 

 sphincter ; x , levator ani ; 1, anterior 

 true ligament of bladder ; 2, 2', sheath 

 of prostate, continuous below with the 

 upper layer of the triangular ligament 

 of the- urethra ; the hinder part of 

 the sheath is continued upwards be- 

 tween the vesiculae seminales and 

 the rectum ; 3, inferior layer of the 

 triangular ligament, between which 

 and the superior layer are seen 

 in section the constrictor urethra 

 muscle and Cowper's gland ; 4, 4, 

 peritoneum. 



The thick dotted line indicates the 

 level at which, to the left of the sec- 

 X tion, the ascending layer of the recto- 



vesical fascia is attached to the bladder 

 and rectum. The thinner dotted lines 

 A, A', and B, B', represent the situation of the sections shown in figs. 297 and 299. 



V 



fascia, and in its posterior part it corresponds to the place of origin of the recto- 

 vesical fascia from the obturator fascia. 



At its connection with the viscera, the recto-vesical fascia has the following 

 arrangement. The anterior part of the fascia meets the side of the bladder along 

 the line of its junction with the prostate, and there divides into two layers. The 

 upper of these is short and is reflected upwards, soon becoming closely united with 

 the muscular coat of the bladder : the lower is stronger and more extensive, and is 

 continued downwards, forming the sheath of the prostate, which at the apex of that 

 gland is continued into the superior layer of the deep perineal fascia (triangular liga- 

 ment of the urethra). In the angle between the two layers, and between the sheath 

 and the substance of the prostate, are contained the large veins of the prostatic 

 plexus, but these structures are so closely united by dense connective tissue that the 

 prostatic sheath can only be dissected off the gland with difficulty. Behind and 

 above the prostate, the prolongation of the upper layer is attached to the base of 

 the bladder immediately outside the line of the vesiculse seminales, which are thus 

 excluded, together with the intervening portion of the base of the bladder, from the 



