The passageway from the abdominal cavity to the scrotum in the male through which the testicles descend shortly before birth or just after birth.
A passage in the lower abdominal wall, carrying the spermatic cord in the male and the round ligament of the uterus in the female.
Either of a pair of openings that connect the abdominal cavity with the scrotum in the male fetus. The inguinal canals provide a route for the descent of the testes into the scrotum, after which they normally become obliterated.