Generality
The navel is a domed dimple located on the anterior surface of the abdomen, along the midline.
Immediately after birth, when the baby is ready for an independent life, the umbilical cord (now useless) is cut; the residual stump undergoes necrosis and detaches spontaneously, usually at the end of the second week of life.
The navel therefore represents a scar formation and, after a gradual process of retraction, takes on the appearance of a depression, circumscribed by a skin ring (umbilical rim), in the bottom of which a prominence (umbilical knot or nipple) protrudes.
By anatomical constitution, the navel represents a point of least resistance in the abdominal wall. This is evident in pregnancy, ascites and umbilical hernia, conditions in which the hollow can shrink while the labrum dilates.
The navel can be the site of numerous pathological processes: among these there are omphalitis (inflammation of the umbilical region), hernia and fistulas.
