TRAUMATIC ARTHRITIS 91 



together in building up the joint, and they therefore perform the usual 

 function of ligaments. The following ligaments of the hip take part 

 in binding the bones only in so far as they are the seat of attachment 

 of some of the fibres of the capsular ligament. Their real function is, 

 however, that of deepening and completing the cotyloid cavity, thus 

 making the latter a more efficient receptacle for the head of the 

 femur. 



(d) The Cotyloid Ligament runs around the rim of the cotyloid cavity, 

 to which it is attached. Where the rim of the cavity is interrupted by 

 the notch for the passage of the pubio-femoral ligament the cotyloid 

 ligament crosses the notch, thus forming an arch and completing the 

 ligamentous circle. 



{e) The Transverse Ligament. — -This is the name which is frequently 

 given to that portion of the cotyloid ligament which bridges over the 

 notch in the rim of the acetabulum. 



DISEASES OF THE HIP JOINT 



TRAUMATIC ARTHRITIS 



The articular surfaces which enter into the formation of the hip 

 joint are extremely well protected from injury from without. Extern- 

 ally we have a powerful protective agent in the great trochanter of the 

 femur, and superiorly the joint is abundantly clothed by muscles. 

 Moreover, the actual articulation is deeply seated, its distance from the 

 cutaneous surface being nearly four inches in an average-sized animal. 

 As one would naturally expect, therefore, an open arthritis of the hip is. 

 an extremely rare occurrence. 



