478 GENERAL REMARKS UPON THE PELVIS. 



pulpy or viscid fluid. At its posterior portion, a delicate 

 synovial membrane has occasionally been seen. 



The anterior pubic ligament consists of fibres passing in 

 front of the symphysis, from the one side to the other. 



The posterior pubic ligament is made up of a few fibres on 

 the posterior surface of the symphysis. 



The sub-pubic, or inter-pubic ligament, is situated beneath 

 the symphysis to which it is connected. Its form is trian- 

 gular, about half an inch broad, and consists of a strong, 

 compact layer of fibres, passing from the crus of the pubis, 

 on the one side, to a similar point on the opposite, round- 

 ing off the angle or arch of the pubis. The triangular 

 ligament of the urethra is below this sub-pubic ligament. 



The superior pubic ligament consists of a plane of fibres 

 uniting the angles of the pubis. 



The obturator ligament closes the obturator foramen, and 

 consists of a thin fibrous membrane, which is attached all 

 round to the edge of this opening, except at its superior 

 part, where the obturator vessels and nerve pass. Its outer 

 and inner surfaces respectively give attachment to the ex- 

 ternal and internal obturator muscles. The articulation of the 

 sacrum and coccyx has been described under the ligaments 

 of the spine. 



GENERAL REMARKS UPON THE PELVIS, AS A WHOLE. 



The pelvis, as we have seen, consists of the two ossa in- 

 nominata, the sacrum and coccyx. These are divided on 

 the interior by the linea ilio-pectinea, into the false and the 

 true pelvis. All above this line, as high as the top of the 

 ilium, is the false pelvis; all below is the true, and this line 

 of separation between the two is called the superior strait. 

 The cavity of the pelvis presents the form of a flat truncated 

 cone, the base above, the apex below. It contains some of 

 the viscera of the abdomen, while it and its parietes receive 

 and support the organs of generation, and part of the uri- 

 nary organs, at the same time furnishing attachment for 

 many muscles. 



The upper or false pelvis is the base of this cone. In the 



