238 THE SKELETON- 



connects the head with the shaft. It varies in length and obliquity at various 

 periods of life, and under different circumstances. Before puberty it is directed 

 obliquely, so as to form a gentle curve from the axis of the shaft. In the adult 

 male it forms an obtuse angle with the shaft, being directed upwards, inwards, 

 and a little forwards. In the female it approaches more nearly a right angle. 

 Occasionally, in very old subjects, and more especially in those greatly debili- 

 tated, its direction becomes horizontal ; so that the head sinks below the level 

 of the trochanter, and its length diminishes to such a degree, that the head 

 becomes almost contiguous with the shaft. The neck is flattened from before 

 backwards, contracted in the middle, and broader at its outer extremity, where 

 it is connected with the shaft, than at its summit, where it is attached to the 

 head. It is much broader in the vertical than in the antero-posterior diameter, 

 and much thicker below than above, on account of the greater amount of 

 resistance required in sustaining the weight of the trunk. The anterior surface 

 of the neck is perforated by numerous vascular foramina. The posterior surface 

 is smooth, and is broader and more concave than the anterior; it receives 

 towards its outer side the attachment of the capsular ligament of the hip. The 

 superior border is short and thick, bounded externally by the great trochanter, 

 and its surface perforated by large foramina. The inferior border, long and 

 narrow, curves a little backwards, to terminate at the lesser trochanter. 



The trochanters (rpo^aw, to run or roll) are prominent processes of bone which 

 afford leverage to the muscles which rotate the thigh on its axis. They are 

 two in number, the greater and the lesser. 



The Great Trochanter is -a large irregular quadrilateral eminence, situated at 

 the outer side of the neck, at its junction with the upper part of the shaft. It 

 is directed a little outwards and backwards, and, in the adult, is about three 

 quarters of an inch lower than the head. It presents for examination two 

 surfaces, and four borders. The external surface, quadrilateral in form, is 

 broad, rough, convex, and marked by a prominent diagonal line, which extends 

 from the posterior superior to the anterior inferior angle ; this line serves for 

 the attachment of the tendon of the Gluteus Medius. Above the line is a 

 triangular surface, sometimes rough for part of the tendon of the same muscle, 

 sometimes smooth for the interposition of a bursa between that tendon and 

 the bone. Below and behind the diagonal line is a smooth triangular surface, 

 over which the tendon of the Gluteus Maximus muscle plays, a bursa being 

 interposed. The internal surface is of much less extent than the external, and 

 presents at its base a deep depression, the digital or trochanteric fossa for the 

 attachment of the tendon of the Obturator Externus muscle. The superior 

 border is free; it is thick and irregular, and marked by impressions for the 

 attachment of the Pyriformis behind, the .Obturator Internus and Gernelli in 

 front. The inferior border corresponds to the point of junction of the base of 

 the trochanter with the outer surface of the shaft; it is rough, prominent, 

 slightly curved, and gives attachment to the upper part of the Vastus Externus 

 muscle. The anterior border is prominent, somewhat irregular, as well as the 

 surface of bone immediately below it ; it affords attachment by its outer part 

 to the Gluteus Minimus. The posterior border is very prominent, and appears 

 as a free rounded edge, which forms the back part of the digital fossa. 



The Lesser Trochanter is a conical eminence, which varies in size in different 

 subjects; it projects from the lower and back part of the base of the neck. Its 

 base is triangular, and connected with the adjacent parts of the bone by three 

 well-marked borders ; of these, the superior is continuous with the lower border 

 of the neck ; the posterior, with the posterior intertrochanteric line ; and the 

 inferior, with the middle division of the linea aspera. Its summit, which is 

 directed inwards and backwards, is rough, and gives insertion to the tendon of 

 the Psoas Magnus. The Iliacus is inserted into the shaft below the lesser 

 trochanter, between the Vastus Internus in front, and the Pectineus behind. A 

 well-marked prominence, of variable size, which projects from the upper and 



