Fascia of Scarpa
Fascia of Scarpa | |
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Details | |
Identifiers | |
Latin | stratum membranosum telae subcutaneae abdominis |
TA98 | A04.5.02.022 |
TA2 | 7093 |
FMA | 72080 |
Anatomical terminology |
The fascia of Scarpa is the deep
Structure
It is thinner and more membranous in character than the superficial fascia of Camper, and contains a considerable quantity of orange elastic fibers.
It is loosely connected by areolar tissue to the aponeurosis of the
From the scrotum, it may be traced backward into continuity with the deep layer of the superficial
In the female, it is continued into the labia majora and from there to the fascia of Colles. The Scarpa's fascia also thickens into a collagenous structure called the fundiform ligament of the clitoris.[1]
History
It is named for Italian anatomist Antonio Scarpa.[2] His description of the membranous superficial fascia is vague in his 1809 hernia monograph.[3] Life-size illustrations included by Scarpa do not identify the layer even though some show all the other anatomical layers of the abdominal wall in the inguinal region. A probable description of the fascia is in the text which discusses femoral (called crural) hernia in the male. Scarpa describes that "below the skin" we find "a layer of condensed substance forming the second covering of the hernia" which adheres to "the aponeurosis of the fascia lata". A little later he describes this layer as being membranous and he believes it has a role in containing this particular herniation. In 1810, Abraham Colles described detailed methods of dissection to expose membranous superficial fascia in the lower abdomen and the inguino-perineal region including the penis and scrotum. Colles clearly associated the subcutaneous limitation of urine extravasation from a ruptured urethra with the attachments of the membranous superficial fascia to deeper structures.[4]
Clinical significance
Scarpa's belief that the fascia stops hernias from forming is not thought to be true today. Some anatomists suggest the membranous superficial fascia is the scaffold which attaches the skin to the deeper structures so that the skin does not sag with gravity but still stretches as the body flexes or changes shape with exercise.
References
This article incorporates text in the public domain from page 408 of the 20th edition of Gray's Anatomy (1918)
- ISBN 978-3-31920-004-0.
- Who Named It?
- ^ A. Scarpa. Sull' ernie: memorie anatomico-chirurgiche. Milano, d. reale Stamperia, 1809; 2nd edition, 1820.
- ^ PMID 24112501.