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The Longitudinal Layer

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The longitudinal layer is 2.5 mm thick and the thickness decreases with age. Cranially the layer is predominantly muscular while fibro-elastic caudally. The fibro-elastic tissue of the longitudinal layer is continuous with the fibro-elastic network outside the sphincter to the perianal skin to form the corrugator cutis ani, thereby forming an intra-sphincteric fibro-elastic network passing through the external sphincter(Stoker, 2009).
External anal sphincter The external sphincter is a cylindrical striated muscle under voluntary control and comprises predominantly slow-twitch muscle fibres, capable of prolonged contraction. With age there is a shift towards more type II (rapid) fibres (Cni, 1993). The external sphincter has a nerve supply by the inferior rectal branch of the pudendal nerve (S2, S3) and the perineal branch of the fourth sacral nerve (S4). Primary function is closure of the anal canal to postpone evacuation, regulation is partly reflex (e.g., sudden increase in abdominal pressure) and partly voluntary through the visceral and somatic afferent and somatic efferent nerves. The external sphincter also contributes to some extent to the anal resting tone. The external sphincter constitutes the inferior outer aspect of the anal sphincter and envelops the inter-sphincteric space . The external sphincter is approximately 2.7 cm high, but is anteriorly shorter in women (approximately 1.5 cm) (Rociu et al., 2000). The lateral part of the external sphincter is

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