Hernia is an abnormal protrusion of a viscus or a part of a viscus through an opening or weakness in the wall of the cavity that containd. Hernia classification were related to the pathogenesis of hernia and anatomic descriptions, so that to support the surgeon in their selection of the techniques of hernia repair. Surgical procedures for hernia repair have changed during the last years. Patients and Methods: A cross-sectional study covered 233 patients diagnosed to have external abdominal

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... a. All these patients were treated surgically in Al-Najaf Teaching Hospital. The time of the study extended for ten months started from 1st December 2002 to the end of October 2003. Results: A total of 233 patients were studied, male patients constituted 170 patients and female 63 patients with male to female ratio of 2.7:1. The most prevalent one was the inguinal hernia 160 (68.6%), One hundred fifty seven were males constituting (98.13%) while females were only three (1.87%). Elective surgery done for 143 patients (89.37%) and 17 patients (10.63%) were admitted from casualty word as complicated inguinal hernia. The indirect type of hernia forming 88.12% (141) cases whereas the direct hernia formed 11.89% (19) cases. The next common type was Paraumbilical hernia 32 (13.7%), and the lowest one was the femoral and spigelian hernias, only one case reported for each type at a rate of (0.42%). Conclusion: External abdominal hernia is a common occurrence in surgical practice and on the top of the list is the inguinal hernia. It is mostly indirect and more in male. Majority are electively operated upon. The next common type was Paraumbilical hernia and the lowest one was the femoral and spigelian hernias.