Ligament · Pelvis

Inguinal ligament

Ligamentum inguinale

The diagonal cord you can feel in the crease of the groin, running from the bony point at the front of the pelvis down and inward to the pubic bone. It was not grown for the job: it is the lower border of the external oblique's flat tendon, rolled under on itself into a thickened band. That rolled edge forms the floor of the inguinal canal above it and arches over the space through which the femoral artery, vein and nerve and the iliopsoas muscle all leave the abdomen for the thigh. It is a dependable surface landmark for exactly that reason — everything entering the front of the thigh passes beneath it.