PELVIC LIMBS 669 



The obturator foramen is a large oval opening surrounded by the 

 three elements of the innominate. Its long axis is about one-third 

 greater than the transverse axis, and is nearly parallel with the long- 

 axis of the bone. It is closed by the obturator muscles. 



Nomenclature. The word innominate is from the Latin innomi- 

 natum, meaning without a name, derived from anonymon. Galen in 

 describing this bone gave it no name, and Vesalius, in a commentary on 

 the passage, asserted that some people called it a bone without a name. 

 A synonym is ox coxce, which, in the Middle Ages, was applied to the 

 thigh bone or femur, while the hip bone was called os anchce, whence we 

 get the word haunch. The French equivalent is os coxal or os iliaque ; 

 the German, das Huftbein. The parts of the hip bone have received 

 various names. The term ilium, introduced by Vesalius as os ilium, is 

 the genitive plural of ilia, from the obsolete He, meaning soft part ; os 

 ilium therefore denotes the bone of the soft parts, that is, of the belly. 1 

 Os ilei, also used, is derived from ileum, a part of the small intestine, 

 and hence means the bone of the ileum, which rests upon it. The Ger- 

 mans use das Darmbein, a translation of os ilei; the French use Tilion. 



Ischium is the Latin for the Greek ischion, derived from ischein, to 

 support. It was introduced by Galen for the part of the hip bone which 

 supports the body when seated. It is used by Homer for the hip-joint, 

 by others for the whole hip bone, for the head of the femur, or even for 

 the buttock. The German word is das Sitzbein ; the French, I' ischion. 



Pubes is Latin, meaning primarily the hair which appears on the 

 body at puberty, and secondarily the genitalia, whence comes ospubis, or 

 os pubes. The Germans employ das Schambein ; the French, le pubis. 



Determination. If the acetabulum be held toward the student 

 with the obturator foramen below it, the ilium will point to the side 

 to which the bone belongs. 



Articulations. The innominate articulates with the sacrum, the 

 femur, and the other innominate. 



Muscular Attachments. The following muscles are attached to 

 the innominate bone : on the crest of the ilium, the sartorius and the 

 tensor vaginae femoris : on the external surface, to the ilium, the 

 glutens medius, the gluteus minimus, the gluteus quartus, the rectus 

 femoris, the internal oblique, the iliacus, and the psoas parvus ; to 

 the ischium, the gluteus minimus, the gemelli, the quadratus femoris, 



1 Hyrtl, Onomatologia Anatomica, 1880, p. 266. 



