External+abdominal+oblique

The external abdominal oblique is the **most superficial, external abdominal oblique muscle** of the cat. It is shown as number 3 and 4 in this picture as it is the muscle which wraps around the cat from the median ventral side to the doral back. In this cat only the external abdominal oblique is cut away and since you can see no guts hanging out, the internal abdominal oblique and transversus abdominus are still both uncut and laying over the cat's gut. The internal abdominal oblique is shown as number 5 in this picture, and the transversus abdominus as number 6, showing that from the most exterior to interior, the three muscles lay on top of each other.

External abdominal oblique --> Internal abdominal oblique --> Transversus abdominus.

The external abdominal oblique runs with **caudodorsal striations**, as shown by the lines drawn over the number 3 flap area. The external oblique functions to pull the chest downwards and compress the abdominal cavity, which increases the intra-abdominal pressure. It also has limited actions in both flexion and rotation of the vertebral column.