Anococcygeal body
The anococcygeal body (anococcygeal ligament, or anococcygeal raphe) is a fibrous median raphe in the floor of the pelvis, which extends between the coccyx and the margin of the anus. It is composed of fibers of the levator ani muscle which unite with the muscle of the opposite side, muscle fibres from external anal sphincter and fibrous connective tissue.[1]
Anococcygeal body | |
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Left levator ani seen from within (anococcygeal body labeled at lower left) | |
Details | |
Identifiers | |
Latin | Corpus anococcygeum, ligamentum anococcygeum |
TA98 | A04.5.04.016 |
FMA | 20273 |
Anatomical terminology |
The fibers of the levator ani pass downward and backward to the middle line of the floor of the pelvis; the most posterior are inserted into the side of the last two segments of the coccyx; those placed more anteriorly unite with the muscle of the opposite side, in the anococcygeal body.
See also
References
This article incorporates text in the public domain from page 423 of the 20th edition of Gray's Anatomy (1918)
- Daftary, Shirish; Chakravarti, Sudip (2011). Manual of Obstetrics, 3rd Edition. Elsevier. pp. 1-16. ISBN 9788131225561.
External links
- Image at rsnajnls.org
- Coccyx pain, tailbone pain, coccydynia (Peer-reviewed medical chapter, available free online at eMedicine)