Anatom3DLinea alba & rectus sheath
Linea alba et vagina musculi recti abdominis · Bílá čára a pochva přímého svalu
Fascia & connective tissue
Looks like
A pale seam of tendon down the middle of the belly from breastbone to pubis, where the sheaths wrapping each rectus muscle meet.
What it does
Joins the two sides of the belly wall and gives the flat muscles something to pull on.
Keeping it well
It stretches and thins in pregnancy and obesity; a bulge along the midline or at the navel is a hernia, and one that turns hard and painful is an emergency.