Inguinal hernia Inguinal hernia An inguinal hernia is a protrusion of abdominal-cavity contents through the inguinal canal. Symptoms are present in about 66% of affected people. This may include pain or discomfort especially with coughing, exercise, or bowel movements. Often it gets worse throughout the day and improves when lying down. A bulging area may occur that becomes larger when bearing down. Inguinal hernias occur more often on the right than left side. The main concern is strangulation, where the blood supply to part of the intestine is blocked. This usually produces severe pain and tenderness of the area. Risk factors for
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