Obturator canal
{{Short description|Passageway connecting the pelvis to the thigh}}
{{Infobox anatomy
| Name = Obturator canal
| Latin = canalis obturatorius
| Image2 = Gray547.png
| Caption2 = The relations of the femoral and abdominal inguinal rings, seen from within the abdomen. Right side. (Obturator canal not labeled, but visible at bottom center.)
| Image = Gray321.png
| Caption = Obturator canal, above the obturator membrane
| Precursor =
| System =
| Artery =
| Vein =
| Nerve =
| Lymph =
}}
The obturator canal is a passageway formed in the obturator foramen by part of the obturator membrane and the pelvis. It connects the pelvis to the thigh.
Structure
File:Gray541.pngThe obturator canal is formed between the obturator membrane and the pelvis.{{Citation|title=Female Pelvic Floor|date=2017-01-01|url=http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/B9780323477819500465|work=Imaging Anatomy: Chest, Abdomen, Pelvis (Second Edition)|pages=1050–1077|editor-last=Federle|editor-first=Michael P.|publisher=Elsevier|doi=10.1016/B978-0-323-47781-9.50046-5 |language=en|isbn=978-0-323-47781-9|access-date=2021-01-30|editor2-last=Rosado-de-Christenson|editor2-first=Melissa L.|editor3-last=Raman|editor3-first=Siva P.|editor4-last=Carter|editor4-first=Brett W.}} The obturator artery, obturator vein, and obturator nerve all travel through the canal.
Clinical significance
An obturator hernia is a type of hernia involving an intrusion into the obturator canal.
The obturator nerve can be compressed in the obturator canal.{{Citation|last1=Weiss|first1=Lyn|title=Chapter 6 - Nerves|date=2007-01-01|url=http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/B9780750675277100065|work=Easy Injections|pages=105–155|editor-last=Weiss|editor-first=Lyn|place=Philadelphia|publisher=Butterworth-Heinemann|language=en|doi=10.1016/b978-075067527-7.10006-5|isbn=978-0-7506-7527-7|access-date=2021-01-30|last2=Silver|first2=Julie K.|last3=Lennard|first3=Ted A.|last4=Weiss|first4=Jay M.|editor2-last=Silver|editor2-first=Julie K.|editor3-last=Lennard|editor3-first=Ted A.|editor4-last=Weiss|editor4-first=Jay M.}}
The obturator canal may be compressed during pregnancy and major traumatic injuries, causing obturator syndrome.{{Citation|last=Garten|first=Hans|title=M. gracilis|date=2013-01-01|url=http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/B9780702037399000511|work=The Muscle Test Handbook|pages=108–109|editor-last=Garten|editor-first=Hans|publisher=Churchill Livingstone|language=en|doi=10.1016/b978-0-7020-3739-9.00051-1|isbn=978-0-7020-3739-9|access-date=2021-01-30}}
See also
References
{{Gray's}}