1 - Anatomical Variation and Layering of Scarpa’s Fascia

Poster Board Number: 1
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Abstract Body : Scarpa’s fascia is a well documented fascial layer in the anterior abdominal wall. It has typically been described as a single dense membranous layer deep to Camper’s fascia and superficial to the rectus sheath. Relatively little literature exists describing Scarpa’s fascia variations and layering. To this end, we dissected the superficial fascial layers of 16 male and 16 female donor bodies. We discovered an additional undescribed fat layer deep to Scarpa’s fascia and superficial to the rectus sheath, referred to in the surgical literature as the deep adipose tissue. Additionally, out of the 16 female bodies dissected, 5 female cadaver bodies had evidence of Scarpa’s fascia folding back on itself and fusing together, forming what looked like 2 distinct layers post dissection. All 5 female bodies with this anatomy exhibited evidence of pregnancy in the form of an episiotomy or C-section scar. 11 female bodies and all 16 male bodies had either no obvious layer fusions or equivocal layering. Further research is needed to determine the extent of how often Scarpa’s fascia folds back in on itself and the long term effects of that folding in women who were previously pregnant.