| Rectovesical pouch | |
|---|---|
 Median sagittal section of male pelvis. (Rectovesical excavation labeled at center right.) | |
 Male pelvic organs seen from right side. Bladder and rectum distended; relations of peritoneum to the bladder and rectum shown in blue. The arrow points to the rectovesical pouch. | |
| Details | |
| Identifiers | |
| Latin | excavatio rectovesicalis |
| TA98 | A10.1.02.513M |
| TA2 | 3727 |
| FMA | 14727 |
| Anatomical terminology | |
Therectovesical pouch is the pocket that lies between therectum and thebladder inmales inhumans and othermammals. It is lined byperitoneum.
The rectovesical pouch is a space between therectum and thebladder inmen.[1] It lies above theseminal vesicles.[2] It is lined byperitoneum and at its base is therectoprostatic fascia (Denonvillier's fascia). When a man is upright or supine, it is the lowest part of hisperitoneal cavity.[3] It may contain parts of theileum (lowersmall intestine) and thesigmoid colon.[2]
Inwomen, theuterus lies between the rectum and the bladder. Therefore, women do not have a rectovesical pouch, but instead have arectouterine pouch andvesicouterine pouch. After ahysterectomy inwomen, the remaining peritoneum may be referred to as a rectovesical pouch.[4]
When a man is upright or supine, the rectovesical pouch is the lowest part of hisperitoneal cavity.[3] Because of this,peritoneal fluid and other fluids that enter the peritoneal cavity, includingascites,blood andpus, tend to collect in this pouch.
This article incorporates text in thepublic domain frompage 1152 of the 20th edition ofGray's Anatomy(1918)
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