Cul-de-sac hernia

A cul-de-sac hernia, also called a peritoneocele, is a herniation of peritoneal folds into the rectovaginal septum in females or the rectovesical septum in males. The herniated structure is the recto-uterine pouch, also known as the pouch of Douglas, in females, and the rectovesical pouch in males. The hernia descends below the upper third of the vagina in females or, by another definition, below the pubococcygeal line. A consensus statement from the United States, Australia and the United Kingdom defines it as a protrusion of the peritoneum between the rectum and vagina that contains no abdominal viscera. Related terms differ by contents: an enterocele holds small intestine, a sigmoidocele holds sigmoid colon and an omentocele holds omentum, so all can be seen as types of cul-de-sac hernia.