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 visceral peritoneum, which covers many of the abdominal organs, and the parietal peritoneum- which covers the visceral peritoneum below it, the extraperitoneal fat, the transversalis fascia, the internal and external oblique and transversus abdominis aponeurosis, and a layer of fascia, which has different names according to what it covers.
In medical vernacular, the term 'abdominal wall' most commonly refers to the layers composing the anterior abdominal wall which, in addition to the layers mentioned above, includes the three layers of muscle: the transversus abdominis, the internal and the external oblique.
Layers of anterolateral abdominal wall
In human anatomy, the layers of the anterolateral abdominal wall are :- Skin
- Subcutaneous tissue
- Fascia
- * Camper's fascia - fatty superficial layer.
- * Scarpa's fascia - deep fibrous layer.
- * Superficial Abdominal fascia
- Muscle
- * External oblique abdominal muscle
- * Internal oblique abdominal muscle
- * Rectus abdominis
- * Transverse abdominal muscle
- * Pyramidalis muscle
- Transversalis fascia
- Extraperitoneal fat
- Peritoneum
Inner surface
| Ligament/fold | Remnant of | Lateral fossa | Hernia |
| median umbilical ligament | urachus | supravesical fossa | supravesical hernia |
| medial umbilical ligament | umbilical artery | medial inguinal fossa | direct inguinal hernia |
| lateral umbilical fold | inferior epigastric vessels | lateral inguinal fossa | indirect inguinal hernia |