Laparoscopic Anatomy of the Pelvis

A view of the anterior pelvic wall within the abdomen shows three cord-like peritoneal folds that appear to attach the bladder to the umbilicus: the median umbilical ligament (or median umbilical fold) and two medial umbilical ligaments (or medial umbilical folds). The median umbilical ligament extends from the dome of the bladder to the umbilicus and corresponds to the remnants of the fetal urachus. The medial umbilical ligaments arise from the pelvis as a continuation of the internal iliac artery and extend to the umbilicus. These are the obliterated segments of the fetal hypogastric arteries. More laterally, the lateral umbilical ligaments consist of peritoneal folds covering the epigastric vessels.