Rectoprostatic fascia

(Redirected from Denonvilliers' fascia)

The rectoprostatic fascia (Denonvilliers' fascia) is a membranous partition at the lowest part of the rectovesical pouch. It separates the prostate and urinary bladder from the rectum.[1] It consists of a single fibromuscular structure with several layers that are fused together and covering the seminal vesicles. It is also called Denonvilliers' fascia after French anatomist and surgeon Charles-Pierre Denonvilliers.[2]

Rectoprostatic fascia
Rectoprostatic fascia
Details
Identifiers
Latinfascia rectoprostatica
TA98A04.5.03.004M
TA23831
FMA19933
Anatomical terminology

The structure corresponds to the rectovaginal fascia in the female. The rectoprostatic fascia also inhibits the posterior spread of prostatic adenocarcinoma; therefore invasion of the rectum is less common than is invasion of other contiguous structures.

References edit

  1. ^ "Dorland's Medical Dictionary". Retrieved 2007-12-11.
  2. ^ Denonvilliers' fascia at Who Named It?