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Pectinate line
	Pectinate line labeled at bottom center.
	The interior of the anal cami and lower part of the rectum, showing the columns of Morgagni and the anal valves between their lower ends. (Pectinate line visible but not labeled.)
Latin	linea anocutanea

The pectinate line (anocutaneous line, dentate line, anal verge, anorectal junction) is a line which divides the upper 2/3rds and lower 1/3rd of the anal canal. Developmentally, this line represents the hindgut-proctodeum junction.

It is an important anatomical landmark, and several distinctions can be made based upon the location of a structure relative to this line:

Distinction	Above pectinate line	Below pectinate line
destination of lymph drainage	internal iliac lymph nodes,^[1] inferior mesenteric lymph nodes^[2] (pararectal lymph nodes),	superficial inguinal lymph nodes (below Hilton's white line)^[3]
epithelium	columnar epithelium (as is most of the digestive tract - the line represents the end of the part of the body derived from the hindgut)	stratified squamous epithelium (as is most of the skin.)
embryological origin	endoderm	ectoderm
artery	superior rectal artery	inferior rectal arteries
vein	superior rectal vein	inferior rectal vein
hemorrhoids classification	internal hemorrhoids (not painful)	external hemorrhoids (painful)
nerves	inferior hypogastric plexus	inferior rectal nerves