Figure 2

Connection of Denonvilliers’ fascia with the lateral pelvic fascia in horizontal sections. Panels A and B show an 86-year-old man. Panels C and D show a 90-year-old man. Panels E and F show an 83-year-old man. The right- and left-hand side columns display Denonvilliers’ fascia (DF) behind the base of the seminal vesicle (SV) and prostate (PR), respectively. The insert of each panel shows a higher magnification view of a circle in the panel. In panel B, DF (arrows) extends laterally in the posterior side of the neurovascular bundle (NVB) to connect with the lateral pelvic fascia (LPF). In panel D, the fascia can be seen (arrows), but the connection is not clear. In panel F, the fascia does not extend laterally, but extends anteriorly (arrows) instead along the prostatic capsule. All panels (or all inserts) were prepared at the same magnification (scale bars are in panel E and its insert). In the six inserts, DF shows a multiple-leaf configuration in the first and second specimens (86- and 90-year-old men), while the fascia is composed of a thick leaf and other thin leaves in the third specimen (83-year-old man). The multiple-leaf configuration is unclear in the insert of panel A. LA: levator ani muscle; LPF: lateral pelvic fascia; MR: mesorectum; REC: rectum.