nd concave, and in
apposition with the sheath of the femoral vessels. It measures an inch,
more or less, in width, and it is broader in the male than in the
female--a fact which is said to account for the greater frequency of
femoral hernia in the latter sex than in the former, (Monro.) Its
strength and density also vary in different individuals. It is covered
anteriorly by, P, Fig. 1, Plate 44, the upper cornu of the falciform
process; and behind, it is in connexion with, k, the conjoined tendon.
This tendon is inserted with the ligament into the pectineal ridge. The
falciform process also blends with the ligament; and thus it is that the
femoral hernia, when constricted by either of these three structures,
may well be supposed to suffer pressure from the three together.

A second or deep femoral arch is occasionally met with. This structure
consists of tendinous fibres, lying deeper than, but parallel with,
those of the superficial arch. The deep arch spans the femoral sheath
more closely than the superficial arch, and occupies the interval left
between the latter and the sheath of the vessels. When the deep arch
exists, its inner end blends with the conjoined tendon and Gimbernat's
ligament, and with these may also constrict the femoral hernia.

The sheath, e f, of the femoral vessels, E F, Fig. 1, Plate 43, passes
from beneath the middle of the femoral arch. In this situation, the
iliac part of the fascia lata, F G, Fig. 2, Plate 44, covers the sheath.
Its inner side is bounded by Gimbernat's ligament, R, Fig. 1, Plate 44,
and F, the falciform edge of the saphenous opening. On its outer side
are situated the anterior crural nerve, and the femoral parts of the
psoas and iliacus muscles. Of the three compartments into which the
sheath is divided by two septa in its interior, the external one, E,
Fig. 1, Plate 43, is occupied by the femoral artery; the middle one, F,
by the femoral vein; whilst the inner one, G, gives passage to the
femoral lymphatic vessels; and occasionally, also, a lymphatic body is
found in it. The inner compartment, G, is the femoral canal, and through
it the femoral hernia descends from the abdomen to the upper and
forepart of the thigh. As the canal is the innermost of the three spaces
inclosed by the sheath, it is that which lies in the immediate
neighbourhood of the saphenous opening, Gimbernat's ligament, and the
conjoined tendon, and between these structures and the femoral vein.

The shea