THE HIP JOINT 



421 



by the other, wliich is broad and trifid, to the margins of the cotyloid 

 notch, where its fibres are blended with the fibro-cartilaginous ring and 

 transverse ligament. 



The capsular ligament is attached by one exti^emity to the margin of the 

 acetabuham, and by the other to the edge of the cartilaginous surface of the 



Fig. 5 



1. 1. Iliac portion of OS inuominatum. 



2. femur. 



3. Head of femur. 



4. Ischium. 



-View of Hip Joint. 



5. Pubio-feinoral ligament. 



6. Transverse ligament. 



7. Ligamentum teres, or round ligament. 



8. Obturator foramen. 



head of the femur. The superior circular edge of this cajDsule is chiefly 

 attached to the bone within four or five lines of the cotyloid ligament. 



Movements. — The coxo-femoral articulation is one of the joints which 

 enjoys the most extensive and varied movements ; namely, flexion, exten- 

 sion, abduction, adduction, circumduction, and i^otation of the thigh upon 

 the pelvis. The mechanism of these diverse movements is most simple. 



STIFLE JOINT, OR COXO-FEMORAL ARTICU- 

 LATION 



The stifle joint is formed by the union of the inferior extremity of the 

 femur, with the superior extremity of the tibia, and the posterior surface of 

 the patella. 



Articulatory surfaces. — To constitute this articulation, the . femur 

 opposes at one part its two condyles to the large undulating surfaces on 

 the upper extremity of the lateral tuberosities of the tibia : at the other 

 part its trochlear articulatory surface, to the posterior face of the patella. 

 Between the tibia and femur are the two semilunar cartilages. 



The semilunar fibro-cartilages are two crescent-shaped bodies, placed on 

 the articulating surfaces at the head of the tibia, and interposed between 

 these and the condyles of the femur. The outer border of each is thick and 

 convex, the inner thin and concave ; leaving the central parts of the 

 superior surface of the tibia uncovered by them. The internal semilunar 



