Nature and Architecture of the Puboprostatic Ligament: A Macro- and Microscopic Cadaveric Study Using Epoxy Sheet Plastination

Abstract

To investigate the nature and the architecture of the puboprostatic ligament (PPL) and its relationship with surroundings. Six adult male cadaveric pelvises (age range, 46-87 years) were prepared as serial transverse (2 sets), coronal (1 set), or sagittal (3 sets) plastinated sections, and were examined under a stereoscope and a confocal microscope. The thickness of the section was 2.5 mm, the interval between 2 adjacent sections was about 0.9 mm, and a total of about 70 serial sections per set were collected. First, the musculotendinous sheet of the pubococcygeus contributed to the visceral endopelvic fascia, decussated in front of the detrusor apron, and fixed to the pubis. Second, anteriorly to the prostate, the detrusor apron split up into anterior, middle, and posterior layers, which contributed to the PPL, the fascial sheaths of the dorsal vascular complex, and the anterior fibromuscular stroma of the prostate, respectively. Third, the PPL originated from both the detrusor apron and the decussated and undecussated fibers of the pubococcygeus, and inserted onto the pubis. This study revealed the nature and the architecture of the PPL and its relationship with surroundings. These findings provide new insights in the "suspensory system" involving the urinary continence and may incite for future surgical techniques that aim to preserve the decussated pubococcygeus and the intactness of a pubococcygeus-detrusor apron complex during radical retropubic prostatectomy.