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The Anatomy of the Pelvic Floor and Sphincters

  • Chapter
Book cover Imaging Pelvic Floor Disorders

Part of the book series: Medical Radiology ((Med Radiol Diagn Imaging))

Abstract

The pelvic floor supports the visceral organs, is crucial in maintaining continence, facilitates micturition and evacuation and in women forms part of the birth canal. This multifunctional unit is a complex of muscles, fasciae and ligaments that have numerous interconnections and connections to bony structures, organs and the fibroelastic network within fat-containing spaces. A detailed appreciation of the pelvic floor is essential to understand normal and abnormal function. The embryology of the pelvic floor is included to help explain certain anatomical features.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Radiology Academic Medical Center, University of Amsterdam, Meibergdreef 9, 1105, AZ, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

    Jaap Stoker MD, PhD (Professor of Radiology)

  2. Department of Anatomy and Embryology Academic Medical Center, University of Amsterdam, Meibergdreef 69-71, 1105, BK, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

    Christian Wallner MSc

Authors
  1. Jaap Stoker MD, PhD
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  2. Christian Wallner MSc
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© 2008 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

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Stoker, J., Wallner, C. (2008). The Anatomy of the Pelvic Floor and Sphincters. In: Imaging Pelvic Floor Disorders. Medical Radiology. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-71968-7_1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-71968-7_1

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-540-71966-3

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-540-71968-7

  • eBook Packages: MedicineMedicine (R0)

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