Lateral inguinal fossae, lateral to the lateral umbilical folds, include the deep inguinal rings and are potential sites for the most common type of hernia in the lower abdominal wall, the indirect inguinal hernia.
- The course of an indirect hernia is through the internal (deep) inguinal ring and the external (superficial) inguinal ring lateral to the inferior epigastric artery and into the scrotum.
- Infants whose processus vaginalis fails to close usually get indirect inguinal hernias.

- Indirect inguinal herniae arise as a result of persistence of the processus vaginalis of the embryo.  Abdominal contents bulge through the deep inguinal ring, into the canal, and eventually into the scrotum.  This hernia can be controlled by digital pressure over the deep ring.



Reference:
1. Anatomy at a Glance. Omar Faiz and David Moffat.  Blackwell Science. 2002.