Inguinal hernia. Coloured barium X-ray of a left inguinal (groin) hernia (small dark blue protrus- ion, lower right) in a man's large intestine. Bar- ium (yellow & dark blue) has pooled in the intest- ine. A hernia, or rupture, is a protrusion of an organ or tissue through the wall of the body cavity it lies in. In an inguinal hernia, part of the large intestine enters the inguinal canal, the passage that connects the abdominal cavity to the scrotum in a man, resulting in a bulge in the groin or scrotum. This hernia may have been caused by physical straining or even coughing. Treatment is with surgery. Enemas of radio-opaque barium allow the large intestine to be seen on X-ray.