Broad ligament

Changed by Daniel J Bell, 10 Aug 2020

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The broad ligament isare the lateral folds of the parietal peritoneum which reflect over the upper genital tract in females.

Gross anatomy

The broad ligament extends from the lateral aspect of the uterus to the lateral pelvic wall and can be divided into three main components - the mesosalpinx, mesovarium and mesometrium.

Attachments

mesosalpinx
- superiorly: uterine tube
- superolaterally: suspensory ligament of the ovary
- posteroinferiorly: mesovarium
- medially: ovarian ligament
mesometrium: drape-like largest portion of the broad ligament
- extends from the pelvic floor to the uterine body and ovarian ligament

The contents of the broad ligament include:

adnexa
- ovary
- uterine tube
blood vessels
- ovarian artery
- uterine artery
ligaments
- ovarian ligament
- suspensory ligament of the ovary
- round ligament of the uterus
other
- vestigial remnants of the mesonephric tubules

A useful mnemonic to remember the contents can be found here.

Variant anatomy

congenital absence of the broad ligament

Related pathology

internal herniation
common site for endometriomas
benign tumours: usually lipoleiomyomas which are a variant of uterine leiomyomas
malignant tumours (rare): leiomyosarcomas

-<p>The <strong>broad ligament </strong>is the lateral folds of the parietal <a href="/articles/peritoneum">peritoneum</a> which reflect over the upper genital tract.</p><h4>Gross anatomy</h4><p>The broad ligament extends from the lateral aspect of the <a href="/articles/uterus">uterus</a> to the lateral pelvic wall and can be divided into three main components - the mesosalpinx, mesovarium and mesometrium.</p><h5>Attachments</h5><ul>
+<p>The <strong>broad ligament </strong>are the lateral folds of the parietal <a href="/articles/peritoneum">peritoneum</a> which reflect over the <a title="Female reproductive system" href="/articles/female-reproductive-system">upper genital tract</a> in females.</p><h4>Gross anatomy</h4><p>The broad ligament extends from the lateral aspect of the <a href="/articles/uterus">uterus</a> to the lateral pelvic wall and can be divided into three main components - the <a title="mesosalpinx" href="/articles/mesosalpinx">mesosalpinx</a>, <a title="mesovarium" href="/articles/mesovarium">mesovarium</a> and <a title="mesometrium" href="/articles/mesometrium">mesometrium</a>.</p><h5>Attachments</h5><ul>
~~-<li>superolaterally: <a title="suspensory ligament of the ovary" href="/articles/suspensory-ligament-of-the-ovary">suspensory ligament of the ovary</a>~~
+<li>superolaterally: <a href="/articles/suspensory-ligament-of-the-ovary">suspensory ligament of the ovary</a>
~~-<li>medially: <a title="ovarian ligament" href="/articles/ovarian-ligament">ovarian ligament</a>~~
+<li>medially: <a href="/articles/ovarian-ligament">ovarian ligament</a>
~~-<li><a title="round ligament of the uterus" href="/articles/round-ligament-of-the-uterus">round ligament of the uterus</a></li>~~
+<li><a href="/articles/round-ligament-of-the-uterus">round ligament of the uterus</a></li>
~~-<li>internal herniation</li>~~
+<li><a title="Internal herniation" href="/articles/internal-hernia">internal herniation</a></li>
~~-<li>benign tumours: usually lipoleiomyomas which are a variant of <a href="/articles/uterine-leiomyoma">uterine leiomyomas</a>~~
+<li>benign tumours: usually <a title="Uterine lipoleiomyomas" href="/articles/uterine-lipoleiomyoma">lipoleiomyomas</a> which are a variant of <a href="/articles/uterine-leiomyoma">uterine leiomyomas</a>