1.4.4 Inguinal hernia

Inguinal hernias account for around 75–80 % of all hernias and are thus the most common type of hernia. Around 27 % of men and 3 % of women will develop an inguinal hernia at some stage of their life. Thanks to a narrower inguinal canal, women on the whole are less commonly affected than men.
 
A distinction is made between medial (= direct) and lateral (= indirect) inguinal hernias.