The lateral umbilical fold is an elevation (on either side of the body) of the peritoneum lining the inner/posterior surface of the lower
anterior abdominal wall
In anatomy, the abdominal wall represents the boundaries of the abdominal cavity. The abdominal wall is split into the anterolateral and posterior walls.
There is a common set of layers covering and forming all the walls: the deepest being the v ...
formed by the underlying
inferior epigastric artery and
inferior epigastric vein which the peritoneum covers. Superiorly, the lateral umbilical fold ends where the vessels reach and enter the
rectus sheath
The rectus sheath (also called the rectus fascia.) is a tough fibrous compartment formed by the aponeuroses of the transverse abdominal, transverse abdominal muscle, and the internal oblique, internal and external oblique muscles. It contains the ...
at the
arcuate line of rectus sheath; in spite of the name, the lateral umbilical folds do not extend as far superiorly as the
umbilicus.
Inferiorly, it extends to just medial to the
deep inguinal ring.
Each lateral umbilical fold is situated lateral to the
ipsilateral medial umbilical fold
The medial umbilical fold is an elevation of the peritoneum (on either side of the body) lining the inner surface of the lower anterior abdominal wall formed by the underlying medial umbilical ligament (the obliterated distal portion of the umbili ...
. Unlike the
median
The median of a set of numbers is the value separating the higher half from the lower half of a Sample (statistics), data sample, a statistical population, population, or a probability distribution. For a data set, it may be thought of as the “ ...
and
medial umbilical fold
The medial umbilical fold is an elevation of the peritoneum (on either side of the body) lining the inner surface of the lower anterior abdominal wall formed by the underlying medial umbilical ligament (the obliterated distal portion of the umbili ...
s, the contents of the lateral umbilical fold remain functional after birth.
Clinical significance
The lateral umbilical fold is an important reference site with regards to
hernia
A hernia (: hernias or herniae, from Latin, meaning 'rupture') is the abnormal exit of tissue or an organ (anatomy), organ, such as the bowel, through the wall of the cavity in which it normally resides. The term is also used for the normal Devel ...
classification. A direct hernia occurs medial to the lateral umbilical fold, whereas an indirect hernia originates lateral to the fold. This latter case is due to the placement of the opening of the
deep inguinal ring in the space lateral to the lateral umbilical fold, which allows the passage of the
ductus deferens,
testicular artery, and other components of the
spermatic cord
The spermatic cord is the cord-like structure in males formed by the vas deferens (''ductus deferens'') and surrounding tissue that runs from the deep inguinal ring down to each testicle. Its serosal covering, the tunica vaginalis, is an exten ...
in men, or the round ligament of the uterus in women.
Additional images
File:Gray539.png, The arteries of the pelvis.
See also
*
Median umbilical ligament
In human anatomy, the median umbilical ligament is an unpaired midline ligamentous structure upon the lower inner surface of the anterior abdominal wall. It is covered by the median umbilical fold.
The median umbilical ligament represents the re ...
*
Medial umbilical ligament
References
External links
* Lateral umbilical fold
** - "Internal surface of the anterior abdominal wall."
**
Abdomen
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