Inguinal hernia sectional imaging with CT or MRI, the major differential in diagnosing indirect inguinal hernias is differentiation from spermatic cord lipomas, as both can contain only fat and extend along the inguinal canal into the scrotum. On axial CT, lipomas originate posterolateral to the cord, and are located inside the cremaster muscle, while inguinal hernias lie anteromedial to the cord and are not intramuscular. Large lipomas may appear nearly indistinguishable as the fat engulfs anatomic boundaries, but they do not change position with coughing or straining. Differential diagnosis of the symptoms of inguinal hernia mainly includes the following potential conditions: There
Inguinal canal Inguinal canal The inguinal canals are the two passages in the anterior abdominal wall which in males convey the spermatic cords and in females the round ligament of uterus. The inguinal canals are larger and more prominent in males. There is one inguinal canal on each side of the midline. The inguinal canals are situated just above the medial half of the inguinal ligament. In both sexes the canals transmit the ilioinguinal nerves. The canals are approximately 3.75 to 4 cm long. , angled anteroinferiorly and medially. A first-order approximation is to visualize each canal as a cylinder. To help