Internal abdominal oblique muscle

Musculus obliquus internus abdominis

  • Synonym: Internal oblique muscle
  • Related terms: Internal oblique

Definition

Origin: Inguinal ligament, Iliac crest and the Lumbodorsal fascia

Insertion: Linea alba, Xiphoid process and the inferior ribs.

Nerve: Intercostal nerves T8, T9, T10, T11, subcostal nerve(T12), iliohypogastric nerve, ilioinguinal nerve

Action: Compresses abdomen and rotates vertebral column.

Description:
The Obliquus internus abdominis (Internal or ascending oblique muscle), thinner and smaller than the Obliquus externus, beneath which it lies, is of an irregularly quadrilateral form, and situated at the lateral and anterior parts of the abdomen. It arises, by fleshy fibers, from the lateral half of the grooved upper surface of the inguinal ligament, from the anterior two-thirds of the middle lip of the iliac crest, and from the posterior lamella of the lumbodorsal fascia. From this origin the fibers diverge; those from the inguinal ligament, few in number and paler in color than the rest, arch downward and medialward across the spermatic cord in the male and the round ligament of the uterus in the female, and, becoming tendinous, are inserted, conjointly with those of the Transversus, into the crest of the pubis and medial part of the pectineal line behind the lacunar ligament, forming what is known as the inguinal aponeurotic falx. Those from the anterior third of the iliac origin are horizontal in their direction, and, becoming tendinous along the lower fourth of the linea semilunaris, pass in front of the Rectus abdominis to be inserted into the linea alba. Those arising from the middle third of the iliac origin run obliquely upward and medialward, and end in an aponeurosis; this divides at the lateral border of the Rectus into two lamellae, which are continued forward, one in front of and the other behind this muscle, to the linea alba: the posterior lamella has an attachment to the cartilages of the seventh, eighth, and ninth ribs. The most posterior fibers pass almost vertically upward, to be inserted into the inferior borders of the cartilages of the three lower ribs, being continuous with the Intercostales interni.
Variations.—Occasionally, tendinous inscriptions occur from the tips of the tenth or eleventh cartilages or even from the ninth; an additional slip to the ninth cartilage is sometimes found; separation between iliac and inguinal parts may occur.

This definition incorporates text from a public domain edition of Gray's Anatomy (20th U.S. edition of Gray's Anatomy of the Human Body, published in 1918 – from http://www.bartleby.com/107/).

Comparative anatomy in animals

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