Anatomy and Stretching 101
Anterolateral Abdominal Wall
• Although the abdominal wall is continuous, it is subdivided in the anterior wall, right and left lateral wall, and posterior wall for descriptive purposes. • Because there is no definite boundary, the term anterolateral abdominal wall is often used. Some structures, such as muscles and cutaneous nerves, are in both the anterior and lateral walls. The anterolateral abdominal wall extends from thoracic cages to the pelvis.
Anatomy • There are five (bilaterally paired) muscles in the anterolateral abdominal wall (see images below). • The two vertical muscles are the large rectus abdominis and the small pyramidalis. • The three flat muscles are the external oblique, internal oblique, and transverse abdominis. • Their attachments are listed, along with their nerve supply and main actions, in Table 1.