[Anatomy of the abdominal wall--an area at risk for hernias].

The muscles as well as the fibrous elements of the abdominal wall will alter their function in man due to his upright position, although the abdominal wall's architecture remains ancestrally. The abdominal muscles quit the only function of visceral weight bearing; they are now additionally important for trunk movements and the stabilisation of the vertebral column. Bipedalism leads to a special intraabdominal pressure distribution, predetermining the more caudal regions of the abdominal wall to herniation.