The abdomen is surrounded by numerous muscles to keep the stomach, small intestine, and colon where they belong, but if one of these organs starts to slip though a weakness or a hole in the muscles, it's called a hernia.

                     Hernias by themselves may be asymptomatic (produce no symptoms), but nearly all have a potential risk of having their blood supply cut off (becoming strangulated). If the blood supply is cut off at the hernia opening in the abdominal wall, it becomes a medical and surgical emergency as the tissue needs oxygen which is transported by the blood supply.

By far the most common hernias (up to 75% of all abdominal hernias) are the so-called inguinal hernias