3.4.

1
Lower parts of the bony pelvis
(4:11)

In this section well look at the pelvic cavity. Well look first at the bones and ligaments that surround the
cavity; then well look at the muscles of the pelvic walls and the pelvic floor; then well see the principal
blood vessels and nerves of the region.

Well start with the bones. Weve already seen the upper parts of the bony pelvis. Now we need to look at
the parts of it that lie below the pelvic brim. Lets get oriented. Heres the bony pelvis, together with the
fifth lumbar vertebra. Heres the pelvic brim.

Well be looking at the pelvic cavity from four different viewpoints. Well look down into it from above;
well look at it from the side, with the opposite half of the pelvis removed; well look at it from behind;
and well look at it from below.

We looked at the features of the upper part of the bony pelvis in the last section. The bones that contribute
to the walls of the pelvic cavity are the sacrum and the coccyx behind, and the lower parts of the hip bone
in front and at the side.

Were looking at the bones in the position they occupy, when were standing upright. In the upright
position the surface of the upper part of the sacrum is angled at 30 to the horizontal. The tip of the
coccyx points forward at about 40.

So the pelvic surfaces of the sacrum and coccyx form a curve of a bit more than a quarter circle. The
lower end of the sacrum is on a level with the top of the pubic symphysis.

This big gap between the sacrum and the hip bone is called the sciatic notch. Its bridged by two major
ligaments, as well see shortly.

Now well look at some details of the hip bone. This massively thick part of the hip bone is formed by the
fusion of the ilium, the pubis, and the ischium.

Its smooth on the inside, and on the back. Its deeply indented on the outside, by the socket of the hip
joint, the acetabulum. This is the body of the ischium, which ends below in this impressive projection, the
ischial tuberosity, which is what we sit on

This sharp prominence is the ischial spine. The large hole in the lower part of the hip bone is the obturator
foramen. In the living body its largely closed off by the obturator membrane.

This is the body of the pubis. The part of the hip bone below the obturator foramen is the ischio-pubic
ramus. The two ischio-pubic rami, meeting in front at the pubic symphysis, form the pubic arch. When
seen from the side, the ischio-pubic rami slope backwards and downwards, towards the ischial
tuberosities.

There are important differences in shape between the male pelvis and the female pelvis, which is adapted
to the important requirements of childbirth. The female pelvic cavity is wider from side to side, and
deeper from front to back, than in the male.

In addition, the angle of the pubic arch is broader. When seen from below, the inferior pelvic aperture of
the female is wider in all directions, than that of the male.