Fascia, Eh. What Is It? What Is It Good for?

Opinions on the meaning of the term fascia appear to have been diverging for the past quarter century. In 1998, the definition of fascia in the international standard anatomical nomenclature was narrowed by removing the term fascia superficialis. On the other hand, fascia researchers, who continue to widely accept the term superficial fascia, have progressively broadened their definition of fascia and proposed that fasciae constitute an anatomical system, the fascial system. Here we examine competing concepts from an anatomical perspective with the goal of finding a position that could lead to a consensus among anatomists, other biomedical scientists and health practitioners with an interest in fascia. We endorse a return to the traditional view that fasciae are fibrous membranes that compartmentalize and connect parts of the body, that they are primarily composed of sheets or sheaths of dense irregular connective tissue, and that they are not parts of well-defined organs. They are prominent components of the integument, musculature, lining of the body cavities, and extraperitoneal spaces. The proposal that fibrous membranous components of the skeleton and nervous system are also fasciae merits further study and discussion.