Round ligament of the uterus

Last revised by Craig Hacking on 15 Mar 2024

The round ligament is one of the supporting structures of the uterus. It has a function in uterine anteflexion.

Together with the ligament of the ovary, it is one of the remnants of the gubernaculum in females.

The round ligament is a rope-like fibromuscular band that extends from the anterolateral aspect of the uterus in the region of the cornu, just below the origin of the uterine tube. It courses anterolaterally between the layers of the broad ligament to the pelvic sidewall. It then passes through the deep inguinal ring into the inguinal canal. After exiting the canal through the superficial inguinal ring, it terminates in the labia majora and mons pubis.

A branch of the inferior epigastric artery, the artery of the round ligament (also known as Sampson's artery) runs under the round ligament and provides an anastomosis between ovarian and uterine arteries.

Can be seen as a soft tissue density band between the uterus and deep inguinal ring.

The ligament is low T1 and T2 signal.

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