The fascia of Scarpa is the deep

membranous layer The membranous layer or stratum membranosum is the deepest layer of subcutaneous tissue. The basement membrane separates the membranous layer from the dermis. It is a fusion of fibres into a homogeneous layer below the adipose tissue, for example, ...

''(stratum membranosum)'' of the

superficial fascia A fascia (; : fasciae or fascias; adjective fascial; ) is a generic term for macroscopic membranous bodily structures. Fasciae are classified as superficial, visceral or deep, and further designated according to their anatomical location. Th ...

of the abdomen. It is a layer of the anterior abdominal wall. It is found ''deep'' to the

fascia of Camper The fascia of Camper is a thick superficial layer of the anterior abdominal wall. It is areolar in texture, and contains in its meshes a varying quantity of adipose tissue Adipose tissue (also known as body fat or simply fat) is a loose con ...

and ''superficial'' to the

external oblique muscle The abdominal external oblique muscle (also external oblique muscle or exterior oblique) is the largest and outermost of the three flat abdominal muscles of the lateral anterior abdomen. Structure The external oblique is situated on the lateral ...

Structure

It is thinner and more membranous in character than the superficial

, and contains a considerable quantity of orange elastic fibers. It is loosely connected by areolar tissue to the aponeurosis of the

, but in the midline it is more intimately adherent to the linea alba and the

pubic symphysis The pubic symphysis (: symphyses) is a secondary cartilaginous joint between the left and right superior rami of the pubis of the hip bones. It is in front of and below the urinary bladder. In males, the suspensory ligament of the penis attache ...

, and in the male, it is prolonged on to the dorsum of the

penis A penis (; : penises or penes) is a sex organ through which male and hermaphrodite animals expel semen during copulation (zoology), copulation, and through which male placental mammals and marsupials also Urination, urinate. The term ''pen ...

, forming the

fundiform ligament The fundiform ligament of the penis is a structure of the external genitalia whose descriptions differ according to the source consulted. The 41st Edition of '' Gray's Anatomy'' (2015) and ''Traité d'Anatomie humaine'' do not acknowledge this st ...

; above, it is continuous with the

over the rest of the trunk; inferiorly, it is continuous with the

fascia of Colles The membranous layer of the superficial fascia of the perineum (Colles' fascia) is the deeper layer (membranous layer) of the superficial perineal fascia. It is thin, aponeurotic in structure, and of considerable strength, serving to bind down the ...

of the

perineum The perineum (: perineums or perinea) in placentalia, placental mammals is the space between the anus and the genitals. The human perineum is between the anus and scrotum in the male or between the anus and vulva in the female. The perineum is ...

; however, it does not extend into the thigh as it just attaches to its fascia, which is known as

fascia lata The fascia lata is the deep fascia of the thigh. It encloses the thigh muscles and forms the outer limit of the fascial compartments of thigh, which are internally separated by the medial intermuscular septum and the lateral intermuscular sept ...

; medially and below, it is continued over the penis and

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 ...

to the

scrotum In most terrestrial mammals, the scrotum (: scrotums or scrota; possibly from Latin ''scortum'', meaning "hide" or "skin") or scrotal sac is a part of the external male genitalia located at the base of the penis. It consists of a sac of skin ...

, where it helps to form the dartos. From the scrotum, it may be traced backward into continuity with the deep layer of the superficial fascia of the perineum (superficial perineal fascia or fascia of Colles). In the female, it is continued into the

labia majora In primates, and specifically in humans, the labia majora (: labium majus), also known as the outer lips or outer labia, are two prominent Anatomical terms of location, longitudinal skin folds that extend downward and backward from the mons pubis ...

and from there to the fascia of Colles. The Scarpa's fascia also thickens into a collagenous structure called the fundiform ligament of the

clitoris In amniotes, the clitoris ( or ; : clitorises or clitorides) is a female sex organ. In humans, it is the vulva's most erogenous zone, erogenous area and generally the primary anatomical source of female Human sexuality, sexual pleasure. Th ...

History

It is named for Italian anatomist

Antonio Scarpa Antonio Scarpa (9 May 1752 – 31 October 1832) was an Italian anatomist and professor. Biography Scarpa was born to an impoverished family in the frazione of Lorenzaga, Motta di Livenza, Veneto. An uncle, who was a member of the priesthood, g ...

. His description of the membranous superficial fascia is vague in his 1809 hernia monograph.A. Scarpa. Sull' ernie: memorie anatomico-chirurgiche. Milano, d. reale Stamperia, 1809; 2nd edition, 1820. Life-size illustrations included by Scarpa do not identify the layer even though some show all the other anatomical layers of the abdominal wall in the inguinal region. A probable description of the fascia is in the text which discusses femoral (called crural) hernia in the male. Scarpa describes that "below the skin" we find "a layer of condensed substance forming the second covering of the hernia" which adheres to "the aponeurosis of the fascia lata". A little later he describes this layer as being membranous and he believes it has a role in containing this particular herniation. In 1810,

Abraham Colles Abraham Colles (23 July 1773 – 16 November 1843) was an Irish surgeon and physician who served as Professor of Anatomy, Surgery and Physiology at the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI) and the P ...

described detailed methods of dissection to expose membranous superficial fascia in the lower abdomen and the inguino-perineal region including the penis and scrotum. Colles clearly associated the subcutaneous limitation of urine extravasation from a ruptured urethra with the attachments of the membranous superficial fascia to deeper structures.

Clinical significance

Scarpa's belief that the fascia stops hernias from forming is not thought to be true today. Some anatomists suggest the membranous superficial fascia is the scaffold which attaches the skin to the deeper structures so that the skin does not sag with gravity but still stretches as the body flexes or changes shape with exercise. The attachment of the fascia to deeper layers confines fluid which may have come from inside the body in certain diseases giving rise to clinical signs such as urethral disruption noticed by Colles and bruising in Cullen's sign or Grey Turner's sign.

References

{{Authority control Fascia