OSTEOLOGY AND SYNDESMOLOGY. 37 
walls, concave posteriorly from above downwards, concave anteriorly in the 
transverse direction, and on either side nearly plane. 
The female pelvis (pl. 123, fig. 45) differs from that of the male (/ig. 48) 
in several particulars: it is wider and larger, but not so deep; the alee of 
the ilium are more expanded, the prominence of the sacrum is less, the 
inlet and outlet are rounder and wider, the sacrum is broader and more 
concave, the pubic arch more round and open, the symphysis pubis not so 
deep, the obturator holes are smaller and more triangular, the sciatic tuber- 
osities are directed more outwards, and the acetabula are more distant from 
each other; all the bones are more thin and delicate. The male pelvis is 
deeper, narrower, and the bones more solid and strong. The peculiarities 
in the female pelvis are intimately connected with the functions of par- 
turition. 
2. THe THicH. ‘This is constituted by but one bone, the femur (pl. 122, 
jig. 3 L). This is the longest and strongest bone in the skeleton, and is 
proportionally longer in man than in any other animal; from the pelvis it 
is directed obliquely downwards and inwards, this obliquity being greater 
in the female than in the male. It consists of the body or shaft, and two 
extremities. : 
The body is slightly twisted, very broad below, and with a rough project- 
ing ridge down the posterior face called the linea aspera (fig. 4"). This 
divides into two ridges at either end, and above its middle may be seen one 
or two holes entering obliquely upwards for transmitting the nutritive ves- 
sels of the bone. 
The upper or pelvic extremity of the femur presents three eminences, the 
head for articulating with the cotyloid cavity, and the trochanters for the 
insertion of muscles. 
The head (jigs. 8°, 24) is of a globular figure, and forms a considerable 
segment of a sphere; it is directed upwards, inwards, and a little forwards; 
a little below its centre there is a rough oval depression for the insertion of 
the round or articular ligament. Excepting this depression, the head is 
covered throughout with cartilage; it 1s supported by a strong elongated 
process of a pyramidal form, the neck (jig. 24), which forms an angle more 
or less obtuse with the shaft of the bone. A rough irregular line separates 
the head from the neck, beyond which the articular cartilage of the foramen 
does not extend. The great trochanter (jig. 8") is continuous with the ex- 
ternal side of the shaft, and nearly in a line with its axis. It is thick, 
rough, and square; broad and convex externally. Internally it presents a 
pit, or digital cavity, which receives the tendons of the external rotators 
of the limb. The lesser trochanter (fig. 3°") is a conical tubercle at the poste- 
riorand inner side of the shaft, much below the level of the great trochanter 
and of the base of the neck. 
The inferior or tibial end of the femur (fig. 25) is very large and broad, 
flattened before and behind, and divided into two eminences or con- 
dyles, which are separated posteriorly by a deep notch. The condyles 
articulate with the tibia. The external (figs. 3%, 4") is larger, and pro- 
jects more forward than the internal; its articulating surface also is 
743 
