The inguinal canal gives passage to the spermatic cord. It is an
oblique canal extending from a point one-half an inch above the center
of Poupart's ligament to the spine of the pubes. The cord emerging
from the external ring continues into the scrotum, and the most
definite manner of finding the external ring is by picking up the cord
in the scrotum and following it with the index finger until the point
of the index finger is pressed into the canal, the scrotum being
invaginated at the same time. In scrotal hernia when the patient is
placed in the recumbent posture the contents of the hernial sac may be
pressed into the abdomen and the finger following the receding hernial
contents will slip into the opening of the external ring.