Protrusion of a loop or knuckle of an organ or tissue through an abnormal opening.

A hernia (pl.: hernias or herniae, from Latin, meaning 'rupture') is the abnormal exit of tissue or an organ, such as the bowel, through the wall of the cavity in which it normally resides. The term is also used for the normal development of the intestinal tract, referring to the retraction of the intestine from the extra-embryonal navel coelom into the abdomen in the healthy embryo at about 71⁄2 weeks. Various types of hernias can occur, most commonly involving the abdomen, and specifically the groin...