title: The surface landmarks of the abdominal wall: a plea for standardization.
abstract: Despite centuries of anatomical studies, controversies and contradictions still exist in the literature regarding the definition, anatomical terminology and the limits of the abdominal wall. We conducted a systematic research of books published from 1901 until December 2012 in Google Books. After the index screening, 16 remaining books were further assessed for eligibility. We decided to exclude journals. The aim of the study was to focus on surface landmarks and borders of the abdominal cavity. After this revision of the literature, we propose that the surface landmarks of the abdominal wall should be standardized.
authors.affiliation: Department of Digestive Surgery, St Maria Hospital, Terni, Italy.
authors.forename: Roberto
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Cirocchi
authors.affiliation: Department of General and Oncologic Surgery, University of Perugia, Faculty of Medicine, Perugia, Italy.
authors.forename: Carlo
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Boselli
authors.affiliation: Department of General and Oncologic Surgery, University of Perugia, Faculty of Medicine, Perugia, Italy.
authors.forename: Claudio
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Renzi
authors.affiliation: Department of General and Oncologic Surgery, University of Perugia, Faculty of Medicine, Perugia, Italy.
authors.forename: Alessia
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Corsi
authors.affiliation: Department of Thoracic Surgery, University of Perugia, Perugia, Italy.
authors.forename: Lucio
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Cagini
authors.affiliation: Department of Digestive Surgery, St Maria Hospital, Terni, Italy.
authors.forename: Andrea
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Boccolini
authors.affiliation: Department of General and Oncologic Surgery, University of Perugia, Faculty of Medicine, Perugia, Italy.
authors.forename: Giuseppe
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Noya
authors.affiliation: 1 Department of Surgery, Hippocrateon Hospital, University of Athens Medical School, Athens, Greece.
authors.forename: Abe
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Fingerhut
keywords: abdominal wall; narrative review; surgical anatomy