The Pelvic Girdle and Lower limb

The Pelvic Girdle and Lower limb

The pelvic girdle is a heavy structure specialised for bearing the body's weight (Figure 9.11), composed of two coxal (hip) bones that anchor the lower limbs to the axial skeleton. Together with the sacrum and coccyx, the coxal bones form the basin-shaped bony pelvis. Each coxal bone is itself made of three fused bones — ilium, ischium and pubis — meeting at a deep socket, the acetabulum, which receives the head of the femur to form the hip joint. Ventrally, the two halves of the pelvic girdle meet at the pubic symphysis, a joint containing fibrous cartilage. The ilium is the broad, flaring upper portion that forms a secure joint with the sacrum; the ischium is a curved bar of bone; the V-shaped pubis bones meet anteriorly at the pubic symphysis. The male pelvis is deep, narrow and heavier; the female pelvis is shallower, wider and more flexible — a hormonally influenced adaptation that assists during pregnancy and childbirth. …