Pudendal canal

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Pudendal canal
Gray402.png
Coronal section of pelvis, showing arrangement of fasciæ. Viewed from behind. (Alcock's canal labelled at bottom right.)
Pudendal nerve.svg
Pudendal nerve and its course through the pudendal canal (labelled in yellow)
Details
Identifiers
Latin canalis pudendalis
TA98 A09.5.04.003
TA2 2436
FMA 22071
Anatomical terminology

The pudendal canal (also called Alcock'scanal) is an anatomical structure formed by the obturator fascia (fascia of the obturator internus muscle) lining the lateral wall of the ischioanal fossa. The internal pudendal artery and veins, and pudendal nerve pass through the pudendal canal, and the perineal nerve arises within it. [1]

Contents

Clinical significance

Pudendal nerve entrapment can occur when the pudendal nerve is compressed while it passes through the pudendal canal. [2]

History

The pudendal canal is also known as Alcock's canal, named after Benjamin Alcock. [3]

Additional images

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pudendal nerve</span> Main nerve of the perineum

The pudendal nerve is the main nerve of the perineum. It is a mixed nerve and also conveys sympathetic autonomic fibers. It carries sensation from the external genitalia of both sexes and the skin around the anus and perineum, as well as the motor supply to various pelvic muscles, including the male or female external urethral sphincter and the external anal sphincter.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Levator ani</span> Broad, thin muscle group, situated on either side of the pelvis

The levator ani is a broad, thin muscle group, situated on either side of the pelvis. It is formed from three muscle components: the pubococcygeus, the iliococcygeus, and the puborectalis.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Internal pudendal artery</span> Blood vessel supplying blood to the external genitalia

The internal pudendal artery is one of the three pudendal arteries. It branches off the internal iliac artery, and provides blood to the external genitalia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pectineus muscle</span> Adductor of the thigh

The pectineus muscle is a flat, quadrangular muscle, situated at the anterior (front) part of the upper and medial (inner) aspect of the thigh. The pectineus muscle is the most anterior adductor of the hip. The muscle's primary action is hip flexion; it also produces adduction and internal rotation of the hip.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Obturator internus muscle</span> One of six small hip muscles in the lateral rotator group

The internal obturator muscle or obturator internus muscle originates on the medial surface of the obturator membrane, the ischium near the membrane, and the rim of the pubis.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Inferior epigastric artery</span> Blood vessel

In human anatomy, the inferior epigastric artery is an artery that arises from the external iliac artery. It is accompanied by the inferior epigastric vein; inferiorly, these two inferior epigastric vessels together travel within the lateral umbilical fold The inferior epigastric artery then traverses the arcuate line of rectus sheath to enter the rectus sheath, then anastomoses with the superior epigastric artery within the rectus sheath.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Obturator nerve</span> Nerve in human anatomy

The obturator nerve in human anatomy arises from the ventral divisions of the second, third, and fourth lumbar nerves in the lumbar plexus; the branch from the third is the largest, while that from the second is often very small.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sacrotuberous ligament</span>

The sacrotuberous ligament is situated at the lower and back part of the pelvis. It is flat, and triangular in form; narrower in the middle than at the ends.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Superior gluteal artery</span>

The superior gluteal artery is the terminal branch of the posterior division of the internal iliac artery. It exits the pelvis through the greater sciatic foramen before splitting into a superficial branch and a deep branch.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Inferior gluteal artery</span>

The inferior gluteal artery is a terminal branch of the anterior trunk of the internal iliac artery. It exits the pelvis through the greater sciatic foramen. It is distributed chiefly to the buttock and the back of the thigh.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Obturator artery</span>

The obturator artery is a branch of the internal iliac artery that passes antero-inferiorly on the lateral wall of the pelvis, to the upper part of the obturator foramen, and, escaping from the pelvic cavity through the obturator canal, it divides into an anterior branch and a posterior branch.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Inferior rectal artery</span>

The inferior rectal artery is an artery that supplies blood to the lower third of the anal canal below the pectinate line.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Perineal nerve</span> Nerve of the perineum

The perineal nerve is a nerve of the pelvis. It arises from the pudendal nerve in the pudendal canal. It gives superficial branches to the skin, and a deep branch to muscles. It supplies the skin and muscles of the perineum. Its latency is tested with electrodes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ischioanal fossa</span> Wedge-shaped space located lateral to the anal canal and inferior to the pelvic diaphragm

The ischioanal fossa is the fat-filled wedge-shaped space located lateral to the anal canal and inferior to the pelvic diaphragm. It is somewhat prismatic in shape, with its base directed to the surface of the perineum and its apex at the line of meeting of the obturator and anal fasciae.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pelvic cavity</span> Body cavity bounded by the pelvic bones

The pelvic cavity is a body cavity that is bounded by the bones of the pelvis. Its oblique roof is the pelvic inlet. Its lower boundary is the pelvic floor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Obturator fascia</span>

The obturator fascia, or fascia of the internal obturator muscle, covers the pelvic surface of that muscle and is attached around the margin of its origin.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Inferior anal nerves</span>

The inferior rectal nerves usually branch from the pudendal nerve but occasionally arises directly from the sacral plexus; they cross the ischiorectal fossa along with the inferior rectal artery and veins, toward the anal canal and the lower end of the rectum, and is distributed to the sphincter ani externus and to the integument (skin) around the anus.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nerve to obturator internus</span> Human nerve

The nerve to obturator internus is a mixed nerve providing motor innervation to the obturator internus muscle and gemellus superior muscle, and sensory innervation to the hip joint. It is a branch of the sacral plexus. It is one of the group of deep gluteal nerves.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Deep perineal pouch</span> Anatomic space enclosed partly by the perineum

The deep perineal pouch is the anatomic space enclosed in part by the perineum and located superior to the perineal membrane.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anal triangle</span> Posterior part of the perineum

The anal triangle is the posterior part of the perineum. It contains the anus in mammals.

References

PD-icon.svgThis article incorporates text in the public domain from page 421 of the 20th edition of Gray's Anatomy (1918)

  1. "canalis pudendalis". TheFreeDictionary.com. Retrieved 2023-06-14.
  2. Chiarioni, Giuseppe; Popa, Stefan-Lucian (2020-01-01), Rao, Satish S. C.; Lee, Yeong Yeh; Ghoshal, Uday C. (eds.), "Chapter 36 - Anorectal pain", Clinical and Basic Neurogastroenterology and Motility, Academic Press, pp. 505–515, doi:10.1016/b978-0-12-813037-7.00036-4, ISBN   978-0-12-813037-7 , retrieved 2021-02-08
  3. Standring, Susan (2016). Gray's anatomy : the anatomical basis of clinical practice (Forty-first ed.). [Philadelphia]. p. 87. ISBN   9780702052309.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)