Article · Wikipedia archive · Last revised Jul 1, 2026

Rectoprostatic fascia

The rectoprostatic fascia is a membranous partition at the lowest part of the rectovesical pouch. It separates the prostate and urinary bladder from the rectum. It consists of a single fibromuscular structure with several layers that are fused together and covering the seminal vesicles. It is also called Denonvilliers' fascia after French anatomist and surgeon Charles-Pierre Denonvilliers.

Last revised
Jul 1, 2026
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≈ 1 min
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Rectoprostatic fascia
Rectoprostatic fascia
Details
Identifiers
Latinfascia rectoprostatica
TA98A04.5.03.004M
TA23831
FMA19933
Anatomical terminology

The rectoprostatic fascia (Denonvilliers' fascia) is a membranous partition at the lowest part of the rectovesical pouch. It separates the prostate and urinary bladder from the rectum.1 It consists of a single fibromuscular structure with several layers that are fused together and covering the seminal vesicles. It is also called Denonvilliers' fascia after French anatomist and surgeon Charles-Pierre Denonvilliers.2

The structure corresponds to the rectovaginal fascia in the female. The rectoprostatic fascia also inhibits the posterior spread of prostatic adenocarcinoma; therefore invasion of the rectum is less common than is invasion of other contiguous structures.

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