Why is a femoral hernia prone to ingrowth?

Femoral hernia is prone to ingrowth due to its anatomic structure. The femoral canal is a narrow funnel-shaped gap, about 1-1.5 cm long, containing fatty loose connective tissue and lymph nodes. The femoral canal has two upper and lower openings, the upper opening is called the femoral ring, which is about 1.5 cm in diameter and covered by the diaphragm of the femoral ring, its anterior edge is the inguinal ligament, the posterior edge is the pubic comb ligament, the inner edge is the cavernous ligament, and the outer edge is the femoral vein. The inferior orifice of the femoral canal is the oval fossa, a weak site on the deep fascia of the femur covered with a membrane in the form of a sieve plate, located below the medial end of the inguinal ligament, where the great saphenous vein of the lower limb crosses the sieve plate into the femoral vein. Because the femoral canal is almost vertical, the hernia mass forms an acute angle when it turns forward at the fossa ovalis, and the femoral ring itself is small and surrounded by more tough ligaments. Therefore, femoral hernia is prone to entrapment, and in extra-abdominal hernia, up to 60% of femoral hernias are clinically entrapped. Once entrapped, a femoral hernia can rapidly develop into a strangulated hernia, and special attention should be paid to it.