Recto-uterine Pouch
The rectouterine pouch (or rectouterine excavation, rectovaginal, Ehrhardt-Cole Recess, cul-de-sac or Pouch of Douglas) is the extension of the peritoneal cavity between the rectum and the posterior wall of the uterus in the female human body.
The rectouterine pouch is used in the treatment of end-stage renal failure in patients who are treated by peritoneal dialysis. The tip of the dialysis catheter is placed into the deepest point of the pouch.
In women it is the deepest point of the peritoneal cavity, posterior to (behind) the uterus and anterior to (in front of) rectum. (The pouch on the other side of the uterus is the vesicouterine excavation.)
It is near the posterior fornix of the vagina.
In men, the region corresponding to the rectouterine pouch is the rectovesical excavation, which lies between the urinary bladder and rectum. (There is no equivalent to the vesicouterine excavation.)
Read more about Recto-uterine Pouch: Pathology, Naming and Etymology, Sexual Response, Culdotomy, Clinical Relevance, Additional Images
Famous quotes containing the word pouch:
“The sixth age shifts
Into the lean and slippered pantaloon,
With spectacles on nose, and pouch on side,
His youthful hose, well saved, a world too wide
For his shrunk shank, and his big manly voice,
Turning again toward childish treble, pipes
And whistles in his sound.”
—William Shakespeare (1564–1616)