The lacunar ligament, also named Gimbernat’s ligament, is a ligament in the inguinal region. It connects the inguinal ligament to the

pectineal ligament The pectineal ligament, sometimes known as the inguinal ligament of Cooper, is an extension of the lacunar ligament. It runs on the pectineal line of the pubic bone. The pectineal ligament is the posterior border of the femoral ring. Structure ...

, near the point where they both insert on the

pubic tubercle The pubic tubercle is a prominent tubercle on the superior ramus of the pubis bone of the pelvis. Structure The pubic tubercle is a prominent forward-projecting tubercle on the upper border of the medial portion of the superior ramus of the ...

Structure

The lacunar ligament is the part of the aponeurosis of the external oblique muscle that is reflected backward and laterally and is attached to the pectineal line of the pubis. It is about 1.25 cm. long, larger in the male than in the female, almost horizontal in direction in the erect posture, and of a triangular form with the base directed laterally. Its ''base'' is concave, thin, and sharp, and forms the medial boundary of the

femoral ring The femoral ring is the opening at the proximal, abdominal end of the femoral canal, and represents the (superiorly directed/oriented) base of the conically-shaped femoral canal. The femoral ring is oval-shaped, with its long diameter being direc ...

. Its ''apex'' corresponds to the

. Its ''posterior margin'' is attached to the pectineal line, and is continuous with the

. Its ''anterior margin'' is attached to the inguinal ligament. Its surfaces are directed upward and downward.

Clinical significance

The lacunar ligament is the only boundary of the

femoral canal The femoral canal is the medial (and smallest) compartment of the three compartments of the femoral sheath. It is conical in shape. The femoral canal contains lymphatic vessels, and adipose and loose connective tissue, as well as - sometimes - a ...

that can be cut during surgery to release a

femoral hernia Femoral hernias occur just below the inguinal ligament, when abdominal contents pass through a naturally occurring weakness in the abdominal wall called the femoral canal. Femoral hernias are a relatively uncommon type, accounting for only 3% of ...

. Care must be taken when doing so as up to 25% of people have an aberrant

obturator artery The obturator artery is a branch of the internal iliac artery that passes antero-inferiorly (forwards and downwards) on the lateral wall of the pelvis, to the upper part of the obturator foramen, and, escaping from the pelvic cavity through the ob ...

(corona mortis) which can cause significant bleeding.

History

The lacunar ligament is sometimes called Gimbernat's ligament after Antoni de Gimbernat.Arráez-Aybar, LA & Bueno-López, JL. (2013). Antonio Gimbernat y Arbós: An Anatomist-surgeon of the Enlightenment (In the 220th Anniversary of his ‘‘A New Method of Operating the Crural Hernia’’). Clinical Anatomy 26:800–809

Additional images

File:Gray546.png, Structures passing behind the inguinal ligament. File:Gray547.png, The relations of the femoral and abdominal inguinal rings, seen from within the abdomen. Right side. File:Slide4Nemo.JPG, Anterior abdominal wall.Intermediate dissection.Anterior view

References

External links