MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia:Umbilical hernia repair

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Umbilical hernia repair - series: Normal anatomy

Umbilical hernia repair - series
Illustrations:

Normal anatomy

The umbilicus ("belly button") is in the center of the lower abdomen. It is the site through which vessels which provide nutrients to the fetus from the mother during development penetrate the fetal abdominal wall.

Update Date: 11/2/2007

Updated by: Deirdre O'Reilly, M.D., M.P.H., Neonatologist, Division of Newborn Medicine, Children's Hospital Boston and Instructor in Pediatrics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts.

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