THE LOWER LIMB 



489 



spine ; the outer surface of the cotyloid hgament ; the ilio- 

 pectineal eminence ; the outer extremity of the obturator crest 

 of the superior pubic ramus ; and the adjacent portion of the 

 obturator membrane. Antero - infer iorly (opposite the cotyloid 

 notch) it is attached to the outer surface of the transverse ligament. 

 Inferiorly it is attached to the upper part of the groove between 

 the acetabulum and the tuber ischii. Its inferior attachments 

 are as follows : superiorly it is attached to the anterior part of the 

 upper border of the great trochanter of the femur and the superior 

 cervical tubercle. Anteriorly it descends as low as the anterior 

 intertrochanteric line, into which it is firmly implanted as low as 

 the inferior cervical tubercle. Inferiorly and internally it is 

 attached to the femur about | inch in front of the small trochanter. 



Anterior Inferior Iliac Spine 



Iliofemoral Band 



(Y Ligament 

 of Bigelow) 



Pubo-femoral Band 



Anterior W.. ^7' \^/a 



Intertrochanteric V^* If^ \ ' /'t ' 

 Line 



Obturator Membiane 



Fig. 237.— The Right Hip-Joint (Anterior View). 



Posteriorly it is attached very loosely to the neck of the femur at 

 the junction of the middle and lower thirds. 



The majority of the fibres of the ligament are disposed longi- 

 tudinally, but some are circular. The circular fibres are best 

 inarked at the posterior and inferior parts of the capsule, where 

 they form a band, nearly i inch in depth, called the zona orbicularis. 

 In certain situations the longitudinal fibres form thickened bands 

 which constitute the accessory portions of the capsule. These 

 accessory bands, usually designated as special ligaments, are as 

 lolJows : iho-femoral, iho-trochanteric, ischio-capsular, and pubo- 

 lemoral. 



The illo-femoral ligament has been compared to an inverted Y, 

 and IS knowTi as the Y-shaped ligament of Bigelow. It is situated 

 on the anterior aspect of the capsule, and is attached superiorly 



