In both men and women, the groin (inguinal region) is a weak area in the abdominal wall.
During development, the gonads in both sexes descend from their sites of origin on the posterior abdominal wall into the pelvic cavity in women and the developing scrotum in men. Before descent, a cord of tissue (the gubernaculum) passes through the anterior abdominal wall and connects the inferior pole of each gonad with primordia of the scrotum in men and the labia majora in women (labioscrotal swellings).
A tubular extension (the processus vaginalis) of the peritoneal cavity and the accompanying muscular layers of the anterior abdominal wall project along the gubernaculum on each side into the labioscrotal swellings.
In men, the testis, together with its neurovascular structures and its efferent duct (the ductus deferens) descends into the scrotum along a path, initially defined by the gubernaculum, between the processus vaginalis and the accompanying coverings derived from the abdominal wall.
Inguinal region development. |
In women, the gonads descend to a position just inside the pelvic cavity and never pass through the anterior abdominal wall. As a result, the only major structure passing through the inguinal canal is a derivative of the gubernaculum (the round ligament of uterus).
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