Recto-vesical pouch

Recto-vesical pouch
Median sagittal section of male pelvis. (Rectovesical excavation labeled at center right.)
Male pelvic organs seen from right side. Bladder and rectum distended; relations of peritoneum to the bladder and rectum shown in blue. The arrow points to the rectovesical pouch.
Latin	excavatio rectovesicalis
Gray's	subject #246 1152

Between the rectum and the bladder the peritoneal cavity forms, in the male, a pouch, the rectovesical excavation (or rectovesical pouch), the bottom of which is slightly below the level of the upper ends of the vesiculae seminales—i. e., about 7.5 cm. from the orifice of the anus. A membranous partition called the Rectoprostatic fascia (Denonvillier's fascia) is located at the lowest part of the rectovesical pouch. different in female

The corresponding structure in women is the rectouterine pouch.

Additional images

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  Median sagittal section of pelvis, showing arrangement of fasciæ.

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  The peritoneum of the male pelvis.

External links

• rectovesical+pouch at eMedicine Dictionary
• SUNY Labs 44:02-0201 - "The Male Pelvis: Distribution of the Peritoneum in the Male Pelvis"
• SUNY Labs 44:st-1501 - "The Male Pelvis: Rectovesical pouch"
• Human anatomy at Dartmouth figures/chapter_35/35-1.HTM

This article was originally based on an entry from a public domain edition of Gray's Anatomy. As such, some of the information contained within it may be outdated.