The fascia of Scarpa is the deep

membranous layer The membranous layer or stratum membranosum is the deepest layer of subcutaneous tissue. It is a fusion of fibres into a homogeneous layer below the adipose tissue, for example, superficial to muscular fascias. It is considered a fascia by some s ...

''(stratum membranosum)'' of the

superficial fascia A fascia (; plural fasciae or fascias; adjective fascial; from Latin: "band") is a band or sheet of connective tissue, primarily collagen, beneath the skin that attaches to, stabilizes, encloses, and separates muscles and other internal orga ...

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. It is found ''superficial'' to the fascia of Scarpa. Structure Superfi ...

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 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 attaches to the pubi ...

, and is prolonged on to the dorsum of the

penis A penis (plural ''penises'' or ''penes'' () is the primary sexual organ that male animals use to inseminate females (or hermaphrodites) during copulation. Such organs occur in many animals, both vertebrate and invertebrate, but males d ...

, forming the

fundiform ligament The fundiform ligament or fundiform ligament of the penis is a specialization or thickening of the superficial ( Scarpa's) fascia extending from the linea alba of the lower abdominal wall. It runs from the level of the pubic bone, laterally aroun ...

; 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 th ...

of the

perineum The perineum in humans is the space between the anus and scrotum in the male, or between the anus and the vulva in the female. The perineum is the region of the body between the pubic symphysis (pubic arch) and the coccyx (tail bone), inclu ...

; 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 extens ...

to the

scrotum The scrotum or scrotal sac is an anatomical male reproductive structure located at the base of the penis that consists of a suspended dual-chambered sac of skin and smooth muscle. It is present in most terrestrial male mammals. The scrotum co ...

, where it helps to form the

dartos The dartos fascia or simply dartos is a layer of connective tissue found in the penile shaft, foreskin, scrotum and labia. The penile portion is referred to as the superficial fascia of penis or the subcutaneous tissue of penis, while the scrot ...

. 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 The labia majora (singular: ''labium majus'') are two prominent longitudinal cutaneous folds that extend downward and backward from the mons pubis to the perineum. Together with the labia minora they form the labia of the vulva. The labia majo ...

and from there to the fascia of Colles.

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, gav ...

. 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 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