ABSTRACT
The superficial inguinal ring is a defect in the aponeurosis of external oblique, located above and medial to the pubic tubercle. An indirect hernia passes through the deep inguinal ring and along the inguinal canal into the scrotum, while a direct hernia bulges through the posterior wall of the canal medial to the inferior epigastric artery through Hesselbach's triangle. A femoral hernia occurs through the femoral canal, which is the medial compartment of the femoral sheath, and is entered via the femoral ring. After hernia repair, scrotal swelling may develop as a result of fluid accumulating in the distal sac, forming a hydrocele. A hydrocele is a collection of fluid in the space surrounding the testicle between the layers of the tunica vaginalis. Hydroceles may be communicating or non-communicating. A hydrocele that was not present at birth, or that dramatically changes in size or fluctuates in size, is suggestive of a patent processus vaginalis.
