Acetabulum

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This article is about the anatomical region. For the Ancient Roman vessel, see Acetabulum (cup). For the unit of measure, see Acetabulum (unit).

Bone: Acetabulum of pelvis
Image:Illu pelvic girdle.jpg
Pelvic girdle

The Acetabulum
Gray's	subject #57 237
MeSH	A02.835.232.611.108
Dorlands/Elsevier	a_06/12104853

The acetabulum is the concave articular surface of the pelvis, formed by the parts of three bones. The head of the femur articulates with the pelvis at the acetabulum, forming the hip joint.

1 Bones
2 Boundaries
3 In reptiles and birds
4 Etymology
5 Additional images
6 References
7 External links

[edit] Bones

It is formed as follows:

Bone	Boundary	Contribution
ilium	above	a little less than two-fifths
ischium	laterally and below	a little more than two-fifths
pubis	medially	the remaining fifth

[edit] Boundaries

It is bounded by a prominent uneven rim, which is thick and strong above, and serves for the attachment of the glenoidal labrum (cotyloid ligament), which contracts its orifice, and deepens the surface for articulation.

It presents below a deep notch, the acetabular notch, which is continuous with a circular non-articular depression, the acetabular fossa, at the bottom of the cavity.

The rest of the acetabulum is formed by a curved articular surface, the lunate surface, for articulation with the head of the femur.

[edit] In reptiles and birds

In reptiles and in birds, the acetabulum are deep sockets. It has its counterpart in the pectoral girdle, namely, glenoid fossa.

[edit] Etymology

The word acetabulum means "little vinegar cup", and was the Latin word for a small vessel for storing vinegar (see acetabulum). The word was later also used as a unit of volume, equal to roughly 270 ml.

[edit] Additional images

Right hip bone. External surface.	Plan of ossification of the hip bone.	Symphysis pubis exposed by a coronal section.	Left hip-joint, opened by removing the floor of the acetabulum from within the pelvis.
Hip-joint, front view.	Capsule of hip-joint (distended). Posterior aspect.	Structures surrounding right hip-joint.

[edit] References

Acetabulum in Larousse Gastronomique, US edition. ISBN 0-517-57032-7

[edit] External links

SUNY Labs 17:01-0501 - "Major Joints of the Lower Extremity: Hip joint"
SUNY Labs 43:os-0407 - "The Female Pelvis: Articulated bones of pelvis"

This article was originally based on an entry from a public domain edition of Gray's Anatomy. As such, some of the information contained herein may be outdated. Please edit the article if this is the case, and feel free to remove this notice when it is no longer relevant.