What does rectus sheath mean?
The rectus sheath is the durable, resilient, fibrous compartment that contains both the rectus abdominis muscle and the pyramidalis muscle. The fascial coverings of the external oblique, internal oblique, and transversus abdominis muscles comprise the rectus sheath.
What is a mass on the abdominal wall?
An abdominal mass is an abnormal growth in the abdomen. An abdominal mass causes visible swelling and may change the shape of the abdomen. A person with an abdominal mass may notice weight gain and symptoms such as abdominal discomfort, pain, and bloating. Masses in the abdomen are often described by their location.
Are all abdominal masses cancer?
Abdominal masses may be large or small, benign or malignant (cancerous), and curable or untreatable. Examples of small benign abdominal masses include hamartomas and cysts, which are solid and fluid-filled collections, respectively, of normal cells.
What is rectus disease?
The syndrome of the rectus abdominis muscle is a disorder of unknown etiology that produces rupture or tear of the epigastric artery, and stretches the rectus cutaneous medialis nerve, producing excruciating pain. The disorder is misdiagnosed in 60% to 93% of cases.
What is the purpose of the rectus sheath?
The function of the rectus sheath is to protect the muscles and vessels which it encloses. In addition, keeping the rectus abdominis and pyramidalis muscle together helps in providing maximal compression of and support to abdominal viscera.
Where is rectus sheath located?
Gross anatomy The rectus sheath is composed of the aponeuroses of transversus abdominis, external oblique and internal oblique muscles, which form anterior and posterior layers of the sheath that fuse laterally at the linea semilunaris and in the midline at the linea alba.
Where is the rectus sheath located?
The anterior layer of the rectus sheath is firmly attached to the rectus abdominis muscle at three tendinous intersections. These are usually located at the level of the xiphoid process, the umbilicus and half-way in between.