Yuniarti

Anatomy department
Faculty of Medicine
UNISBA

Although the abdominal wall is continuous, it is subdivided into the

anterior wall, right and left lateral walls, and posterior wall for
descriptive purposes

The wall is musculoaponeurotic, except for the posterior wall, which

includes the lumbar region of the vertebral column.
The boundary between the anterior and the lateral walls is indefinite,
therefore the term anterolateral abdominal wall is often used.
The anterolateral abdominal wall consists of skin and subcutaneous
tissue (superficial fascia) composed mainly of fat, muscles and their
aponeuroses and deep fascia, extraperitoneal fat, and parietal
peritoneum

The anterolateral abdominal wall is bounded superiorly by the cartilages of the

7th-10th ribs and the xiphoid process of the sternum, and inferiorly by the
inguinal ligament and the superior margins of the anterolateral aspects of the
pelvic girdle (iliac crests, pubic crests, and pubic symphysis)

Musculophrenic artery
Superior epigastric artery
10th & 11th intercostal artery
Subcostal artery
Inferior epigastric artery
Deep circumflex illiac artery
Superficial circumflex illiac artery
Superficial epigastric artery

Superficial lymphatic vessels

accompany the subcutaneous
veins; those superior to the
transumbilical plane drain
mainly to the axillary lymph
nodes; however, a few drain
to the parasternal lymph
nodes. Superficial lymphatic
vessels inferior to the
transumbilical plane drain to
the superficial inguinal lymph
nodes.
Deep lymphatic vessels
accompany the deep veins of
the abdominal wall and drain
to the external iliac, common
iliac, and right and left lumbar
(caval and aortic) lymph
nodes

The posterior abdominal wall is mainly

composed of the:
Five lumbar vertebrae and associated IV discs (centrally).
Posterior abdominal wall muscles
Diaphragm, which contributes to the superior part of the posterior wall.
Fascia, including the thoracolumbar fascia.
Lumbar plexus, composed of the anterior rami of lumbar spinal nerves.
Fat, nerves, vessels (e.g., aorta and IVC), and lymph nodes.

anterior
lateral
posterolateral