Benjamin Alcock and the pudendal canal.

The anatomy of the pudendal nerve is complex and difficult to visualize. Entrapment of the pudendal nerve is believed to occur in a canal, the pudendal canal or Alcock's canal, yet in the literature this term is used to refer to several different anatomic locations. We present a brief history of Benjamin Alcock, and we compare Alcock's original description of the pudendal canal with our findings from a cadaveric study. It is concluded that Alcock's canal for the pudendal nerve, as Alcock described it related to the pudendal artery, should be that portion of the pudendal nerve within the obturator internus fascia. This definition now permits future medical and surgical approaches to use the appropriate terminology for this anatomic location. © Thieme Medical Publishers.