Henle's Ligament: A Comprehensive Review of Its Anatomy and Terminology over Almost One and a Half Centuries.

Cureus. 2018 Sep 26;10(9):e3366. doi: 10.7759/cureus.3366.

Gnanadev R, Iwanaga J, Oskouian RJ, Loukas M, Tubbs RS.

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Abstract

Henle's ligament was first described by German physician and anatomist, Friedrich Henle, in 1871. This review article will cover Henle's original description of the ligament, historical changes in terminology, embryological studies of the ligament, and the clinical significance of Henle's ligament. This article has a particular focus on the variation in the terminology of this structure and the implications of this.

KEYWORDS:

anatomy; conjoint area; conjoint tendon; falx inguinalis; friedrich henle; henle’s ligament; inguinal

Figure 1

Right inguinal region dissected in a fresh frozen adult cadaver

The scalpel handle is pushing down the contents of the peritoneal cavity and the inguinal ligament is cut and reflected inferiorly. The iliopubic tract is seen at the dotted line. An extension of the lateral aspect of the rectus abdominis muscle is seen as Henle’s ligament.