Inguinal canal development: The muscular wall and the role of the gubernaculum

Abstract

The inguinal canal is an anatomically complex region. Although much has been written about the gubernaculum and the descent of the testis, little is known about the development of the abdominal wall itself. We dissected this inguinal canal in 75 fetuses between 10 and 25 weeks of gestation, 42 males and 33 females. We identified the anterior body-wall muscular layers, located the gonads and uterus, and observed the formation of the scrotum. The gubernaculum was dissected, from the deep to the superficial ends and its distal attachments were determined. We proved that the muscular-fibrous layers of the wall were well-differentiated and observed how the inguinal canal enlarged with embryological development. In only one of the cases, an abnormal testis was found located in the scrotum. The upper end of the gubernaculum inserted into the inferior pole of the testis or the lateral angle of the uterus, according to gender. The lower end was attached by one or multiple tails, mainly on the pubic bone. This fact explained the clinical findings of ectopic testis. Observations of the abdominal wall and its relationship with the gubernaculum assisted us in explaining the development of the inguinal region, the formation of the inguinal canal, and the presence of the gubernaculum, in both genders. We intend to explain how the deep inguinal ring moves upwards, bringing the gubernaculum along with it, and thus determines the final form of the inguinal canal.

Reappraisal of the ligament of Henle (ligamentum inguinale internum mediale; Henle, 1871): a topohistological study using Korean foetuses

“…This short period of descent in females might be connected with the presence of the ligament of Henle. The thick gubernaculums is believed to make the large superficial ring in the male inguinal canal [4]. However, to our knowledge, a description on the gender difference in the inguinal canal posterior wall was limited to Rosen et al [12].…”

“…2, 3, 5) will be described prior to observations in males (Figs. 4,6) in each of the subsections below.…”

Formación embriológica del canal inguinal

“…El desarrollo de la región de este canal está relacionado con el gubernaculum (columna de tejido blando que conecta el testículo u ovario fetal al área inguinal [3]), quien a su vez está asociado directamente con la migración de los testículos a través del canal inguinal, y probablemente con el escroto también [2].…”

“…En los hombres es una guía para el descenso testicular [3] a través de la pared del cuerpo hasta el escroto, y preserva el túnel a través de la pared muscular [2].…”

Comment on “Inguinal Canal Development: The Muscular Wall and the Role of the Gubernaculum”

“…

This is with regards to your article, Inguinal canal development: the muscular wall and the role of the gubernaculum (Biasutto et al, 2009). The article was very interesting and informative.

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