368 



HUMAN ANATOMY. 



the level of the articular surface. These structures are covered by synovial mem- 

 brane. The head of the femur is covered by articular cartilage, except at the de- 

 pression for the insertion of the round ligament. 



The bones are connected by the capsule and the round ligament. 



The capsule^ (Figs. 385, 386) is a fibrous envelope enclosing the joint, 

 strengthened by certain bands, which are inseparable parts of its substance, though 

 they have names of their own. The capsule is attached to the cotyloid ligament and 

 to the periphery of the acetabulum just outside of the origin of the latter. In this 

 respect there is much uncertainty ; the capsule always rises from the free edge of the 

 transverse ligament, and, as a rule, elsewhere outside the base of the cotyloid ; but it 

 may in parts arise from its edge. This applies to the capsule examined from within ; 

 externally the fibres extend a considerable distance from the border of the joint. 

 They almost conceal the opening at the notch below ; above, they parUy bridge 

 over the reflected tendon of the rectus and partly join its deeper fibres. The cap- 



FiG. 384. 



Articular surface 



Fat in acetabular fossa 



Tuberosity of ischium 



Anterior inferior spine of 

 ilium 



Cotyloid ligament 

 Stump of round ligament 

 Transverse ligament 



Capsule reflected 



Socket of right hip-joint. The capsule has been divided near its origin and reflected. 



sule extends to the base of the anterior inferior spine of the ilium and some distance 

 on the obturator crest. The attachment to the femur, seen from without, runs from 

 the top of the greater trochanter, just above the superior cervical tubercle, down the 

 spiral line to the level of the top of the lesser trochanter, where the line of insertion 

 turns in for about two centimetres, when it passes upward along the back of the 

 neck, less than half-way from the head to the posterior intertrochanteric line, till, 

 reaching the top of the neck, it gradually passes outward to the starting-point. 

 Thus the capsule stops about a finger' s-breadth short of the lesser trochanter, in- 

 cludes less than half the hind side of the neck, and stops short of the digital fossa 

 and of the inner side of the top of the greater trochanter. Posteriorly, it is not 

 truly inserted into the neck, but simply crosses it, its position being determined 

 by the line of reflection of the synovial membrane. The general direction of the 

 fibres is longitudinal ; but the posterior fibres, when the femur is strongly extended, 

 assume the form of a twisted band running from the back of the socket outward 



' Capsula articularis. 



