[Emergence and course of the ilioinguinal nerve of the groin]

The aim of our study was to find a way of preserving the ilioinguinal nerve during surgical procedures for the repair of inguinal hernias. 40 inguinal regions were dissected, 37 ilio-inguinal nerves studied. The emergence of the nerve was at 4.21 cm of the anterior superior iliac spine, at 0.78 cm of the inguinal ligament on average. Its course was parallel to the inguinal ligament, always lay under the aponevrosis of the external oblique abdominal muscle, it passed through the superficial abdominal ring in 67.56% before proceeding on anterior side of spermatic cord. This result allowed us to examine the possibility of the nerve course variation's, of anastomosis with iliohypogastric nerve and particularly the best way to identify it when surgical procedures are performed in the lower portion of the abdomen.