PELYIS. 235 



above and below, contracts the inlet and outlet of the canal ; and laterally it is 

 bounded by a broad, smooth, quadrangular plate of bone, corresponding to the 

 inner surface of the body of the ischium. The cavity is shallow in front, mea- 

 suring at the symphysis an inch and a half in depth, three inches and a half iu 



Fig. 167. Male Pelvis (Adult). 



Fig. 168. Female Pelvis (Adult). 



the middle, and four inches and a half posteriorly. From this description it 

 will be seen that the cavity of the pelvis is a short curved canal, considerably 

 deeper on its posterior than on its anterior wall, and broader in the middle than 

 at either extremity, from the projection forwards of the sacro-coccygeal column 

 above and below. This cavity contains, in the recent subject, the rectum, blad- 

 der, and part of the organs of generation. The rectum is placed at the back 

 of the pelvis, and corresponds to the curve of the sacro-coccygeal column; the 



