2.1.2. Anatomy of the abdominal wall
Bensley and Craigie (1948) described the anatomical structure of rabbit 's abdominal wall in their historical and heritable textbook of Bensley 's Practical Anatomy of the Rabbit. In special reference to the topographical umbilical region, the abdominal wall of rabbit is composed of 8 major structures that involve the skin, linea alba, cutaneous maximus muscle, external oblique muscle, internal oblique muscle, rectus abdominis muscle, transverse muscle and the parietal peritoneum.
On the inner surface of the skin, a thick compact connective tissue forming the corium is found with embedded hair follicles appearing as dots. The loose subcutaneous tissue (tela subcutanea) by which the skin is attached, is well identifiable. In some animals, large amounts of fat are sometimes deposited in this layer. Some fat may be present in the
…show more content…
rectus abdominis) is a thin strap-like muscle, enclosed between two sheets of the aponeurosis of the internal oblique, and separated from its fellow of the opposite side by the linea alba. The muscle originates from the lateral border of the sternum, including the xiphoid process; also the ventral surfaces of the 1st to 7th costal cartilages. Its insertion lies at the anterior end of the pubic symphysis (Bensley and Craigie, 1948).
The deepest muscle of the abdominal wall is the transverse abdominal muscle (m. transversus abdominis) which originates from 7 posterior ribs, the middle layer of the lumbar fascia, and the inguinal ligament. It inserts in the linea alba, by an aponeurosis that fuses with the weakly developed dorsal leaf of the aponeurosis of the internal oblique to form the dorsal wall of the sheath of the rectus abdominis. The fibers are directed downward and slightly backward (Bensley and Craigie, 1948).
The remaining internal portion of the wall is a smooth serous membrane forming the parietal peritoneum (peritonaeum parietale) (Bensley and Craigie,