PUBIC ARTICULATION. 149 



to the side of the sacrum and coccyx, where its fibres are blended with 

 those of the great ligament ; and, by its apex, to the spine of the ischium. 

 Its form is triangular, and the direction of its fibres is forwards and outwards. 



Fig. 137. 



Fig. 137. LIGAMENTS OP THE PELVIS AND HIP-JOINT, AS SEEN FROM BEHIND JN THE 



ERECT ATTITUDE OF THE BODY, FROM A FEMALE SUBJECT. 



1, ilio-lumbar ligament : above it the last lumbar intertransverse ligament ; 2, posterior 

 sacro-iliac ligaments, the short and the oblique ; 3, great sacro-sciatic ligament ; 4, attach- 

 ment of the lesser sacro-sciatic ligament to the spinous process ; 5, obturator membrane 

 or ligament ; 6, posterior ligament of symphysis pubis ; 7, 7, continuation of supraspinous 

 ligaments from the lower lumbar vertebrae over the sacral spines ; 8, transverse process 

 of last lumbar vertebra, to which from above is seen descending the last intertransverse 

 ligament, and from below ascending the sacro-vertebral ligament ; 9, posterior surface of 

 the capsular ligament of the hip-joint. The posterior ligaments passing between the 

 sacrum and coccyx are also partially shown, 



Foramina. Between the upper border of the great sacro-sciatic liga- 

 ment and the innominate bone, is a large space subdivided by the small 

 sacro-sciatic ligament. The part which lies above this ligament is a large 

 oval opening, named the great sacro-sciatic foramen. It transmits the pyri- 

 form muscle, the great sciatic nerve, and the gluteal and ischiatic vessels 

 and nerves. The part between the greater and lesser sacro-sciatic liga- 

 ments, much smaller in size, and bounded in front by the smooth surface 

 between the spine and tuberosity of the ischium, is the small sacro-sciatic 

 foramen, through which pass the obturator iuternus muscle and the internal 

 pudic vessels and nerve. 



The PUBIC ARTICULATION, or symphysis pubis, is the connection of the pubic 

 bones in front, and is effected by fibro-cartilaginous plates and ligaments. 

 The adjacent surfaces of bone are each coated with cartilage, and to this is 

 attached the fibro-cartilage which unites them. The fibro- cartilage is thicker 

 and stronger in front than behind, and generally contains a synovial cavity 

 towards the back part of the joint. The ligaments are named anterior, 

 posterior, superior, and inferior. The anterior pubic ligament consists 

 of irregular fibres passing obliquely across from bone to bone in front of the 



