Retropubic space
Last revised by Mohd Ashyiraff Ilani Bin Ismail
on 21 Jan 2025
Citation, DOI, disclosures and article data
Citation:
Goel A, Ismail M, Masters M, et al. Retropubic space. Reference article, Radiopaedia.org (Accessed on 17 Mar 2025) https://doi.org/10.53347/rID-27783
rID:
27783
Article created:
20 Feb 2014,
Ayush Goel
Disclosures:
At the time the article was created Ayush Goel had no recorded disclosures.
View Ayush Goel's current disclosures
Last revised:
21 Jan 2025,
Mohd Ashyiraff Ilani Bin Ismail
Disclosures:
At the time the article was last revised Mohd Ashyiraff Ilani Bin Ismail had no financial relationships to ineligible companies to disclose.
View Mohd Ashyiraff Ilani Bin Ismail's current disclosures
Revisions:
15 times, by
11 contributors -
see full revision history and disclosures
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Synonyms:
- Cave of Retzius
- Prevesical space
- Cavum Retzii
- Space of Retzius
The retropubic space (also known as the prevesical space, cave of Retzius or cavum Retzii) is an extraperitoneal space located posterior to the pubic symphysis and anterior to the urinary bladder. It is separated from the anterior abdominal wall by the transversalis fascia and extends to the level of the umbilicus.
It is an avascular potential space used as prosthesis reservoir for penile implant procedure and also used for stress urinary incontinence procedure in urogynecology5.
History and etymology
This space is named after Anders Retzius (1796–1860), a Swedish professor of anatomy 4.
Related pathology
References
- 1. Sectional Anatomy for Imaging Professionals. Mosby. ISBN:0323082602. Read it at Google Books - Find it at Amazon
- 2. Butler P, Mitchell A, Healy JC. Applied Radiological Anatomy. Cambridge University Press. (2012) ISBN:0521766664. Read it at Google Books - Find it at Amazon
- 3. O'Connell AM, Duddy L, Lee C, Lee MJ. CT of pelvic extraperitoneal spaces: an anatomical study in cadavers. Clinical radiology. 62 (5): 432-8. doi:10.1016/j.crad.2006.11.012 - Pubmed
- 4. Anders Retzius (1796–1860). (2013) Journal of Neurology. 260 (5): 1445. doi:10.1007/s00415-012-6728-7 - Pubmed
- 5. Patel J, Sasson A, Simpson W, Wilck E. The Anatomy and Pathology of the Space of Retzius. Clin Imaging. 2024;110:110137. doi:10.1016/j.clinimag.2024.110137 - Pubmed
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