Product Code Database
The pectinate line (also known as the dentate line) is a line which divides the upper two-thirds and lower third of the anal canal. Developmentally, this line represents the hindgut-proctodeum junction.
It is an important anatomical landmark in humans, and forms the boundary between the anal canal and the rectum according to the anatomic definition. Colorectal surgeons instead define the anal canal as the zone from the anal verge to the anorectal ring (palpable structure formed by the external anal sphincter and the puborectalis muscle). Several distinctions can be made based upon the location of a structure relative to the pectinate line:
| superficial inguinal lymph nodes (below Hilton's white line) | |
| stratified squamous epithelium, non-keratinized (until Hilton's white line, where the [[anal verge]] becomes continuous with the perianal skin containing keratinized epithelium.) | |
| [[ectoderm]] | |
| middle and inferior rectal arteries | |
| middle and inferior rectal veins | |
| external hemorrhoids (painful) | |
| [[pudendal nerve]]s |
==Additional images==
|
|
