A sheath that connects the remains of the cord with deep abdominal fabrics could be the basis of the common turning within the navel.
The navel can have different forms, but in 90% of people it is hired: that is, it presents itself as a small hole in the center of the abdomen. What does this common conformation depend on? Perhaps, from an anatomical structure that has remained unknown so far and now described by a group of scientists from the Institute of Sciences in Tokyo.
As they studied a technique to improve abdominal surgery, the researchers noticed the presence of a fibrous sheath that connects the remains of the umbilical cord to the deep abdominal tissues, and that “pulls” the navel towards the inside of the belly. The discovery was reported in pre-publication on Research Square.
Unknown anatomy
Japanese scientists discovered the new structure while trying to perfect abdominal surgery techniques, with the intention of reducing the incidence of post-incisional hernia (or laparocele), a complication of this type of operations. It is a swelling in the abdomen, often in correspondence with the navel, due to the thrust towards the outside of the viscera, which take advantage of the fulfillment of the abdominal wall due to the engravings.
The researchers conducted a very detailed microscope analysis of the region around the navel of five human bodies donated to science, and made a 3D model of an anatomical structure never noticed before: a fibrous sheath, in the shape of a tunnel, which begins right under the skin of the navel and which continues, without interruptions, up to the abdominal band, the set of fibrous membranes that cover and support i Abdominal muscles and that the internal organs keep in place.
Partial explanation
“The structure is made up of densely oriented collagen fibers and surrounded by a sheath, which we called umbilical sheath”, explains Satuu Muro, among the authors of the study. “This sheath seems to anchor umbilical depression to the deep band in all directions”. Scientists have not been able to perform the same mapping in a protruding navel, so they can only hypothesize that individual differences in the development or robustness of this sheath can influence on the conformation, hired or not, of the navel.