pelvis

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pelvis
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pelvis

anterior view of an adult male human pelvis
A. ilium
B. sacrum
C. acetabulum
D. pubis
E. pubic symphysis
F. ischium
(Carlyn Iverson)
(pĕl'vĭs) pronunciation
n., pl., -vis·es, or -ves (-vēz).
    1. A basin-shaped structure of the vertebrate skeleton, composed of the innominate bones on the sides, the pubis in front, and the sacrum and coccyx behind, that rests on the lower limbs and supports the spinal column.
    2. The cavity formed by this structure.
  1. The hollow funnel in the outlet of the kidney, into which urine is discharged before entering the ureter. Also called renal pelvis.

[Latin pēlvis, basin.]


pelvis, bony, basin-shaped structure that supports the organs of the lower abdomen. It receives the weight of the upper body and distributes it to the legs; it also forms the base for numerous muscle attachments. In the human pelvis there are two large hip bones, each consisting of three fused bones, the illium, ischium, and pubis. The hip bones form a ring around a central cavity. The fused terminal segments of the spine, known as the sacrum and coccyx, connect the hip bones at the back of the central cavity; a fibrous band connects them at the front. In women the pelvis is wider and has a larger capacity than in men, a condition that reflects the child-bearing function in women. See skeleton.


The bowl-shaped group of bones connecting the trunk of the body to the legs and supporting the spine. The pelvis includes the hip bones and the lower part of the backbone.

Pl. pelves; the caudal portion of the trunk of the body, forming a basin bounded ventrally and laterally by the hip bones and dorsally by the sacrum and coccygeal vertebrae. Also applied to any basin-like structure, e.g. the renal pelvis.
The bony pelvis is formed by the sacrum, coccyx, ilium, pubis and ischium, bones that form the hip and pubic and sciatic arches.

  • android p. — one with a wedge-shaped inlet and narrow cranial segment typically found in the male.
  • extrarenal p. — see renal pelvis (below).
  • rachitic p. — one distorted as a result of rickets.
  • renal p. — the funnel-shaped expansion of the cranial end of the ureter; it is usually within the renal sinus, but under certain conditions, a large part of it may be outside the kidney (extrarenal pelvis).
  • split p. — one with a congenital separation at the symphysis pubis.
  • tipped p. — a tilted pelvis as occurs in cows and causes the external urinary meatus to be higher than the anterior pelvic floor so that urine accumulates in the vagina. See also urovagina.
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categories related to 'pelvis'

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Random House Word Menu by Stephen Glazier
For a list of words related to pelvis, see:
  • Trunk - pelvis: basin-shaped skeletal structure formed by pelvic girdle and adjoining bones of spine
  • Skeleton - pelvis: bone forming pelvic cavity


  See crossword solutions for the clue Pelvis.
See also Human pelvis for extensive details.
The pelvic girdle of the dinosaur Falcarius utahensis

The pelvis, or pelvic bone, derived from the Latin word for 'basin', is an anatomical structure found in most vertebrates. It is the name given to both a bony structure or pelvic girdle connecting the base of the spine to the rear limbs, and the region of the body defined by that structure. The muscles and tissue beneath the pelvic girdle are known as the pelvic floor.

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Pelvis skeleton

The pelvic girdle is also known as the pelvis skeleton or bony pelvis. It is a large, bilaterally symmetric, compound bone structure, consisting of the os coxa, sacrum and coccyx. The top or forward part of the pelvis is called the pelvic inlet, and its edge the pelvic brim. A related skeletal structure, found mainly in birds and dinosaurs, is the synsacrum.

In mammals, the pelvic girdle has a gap in the middle, significantly larger in females than in males. Babies pass through this gap when they are born.

Pelvic cavity and lesser pelvis

The cavity defined by the pelvic girdle up to the pelvic brim is known as the pelvic cavity. The region of the body defined by the pelvic girdle and the pelvic cavity is called the lesser pelvis (or true pelvis).

As the pelvis is concave, another cavity is defined by the pelvis above and in front of the pelvic brim. This is referred to this as the greater pelvis (or false pelvis). Some authors consider it part of the pelvic cavity, others consider it part of the abdominal cavity, others call both the abdominopelvic cavity.

Evolutionary history

The pelvis can be traced back to the pelvic girdles of early vertebrates, and to the paired fins of fish that were some of the earliest chordates.[1]

References

  1. ^ William K. Gregory, The American Naturalist, Vol. 69, No. 722 (1935), pp. 193-210, University of Chicago Press. [1]

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Dansk (Danish)
n. - bækken

Nederlands (Dutch)
bekken

Français (French)
n. - pelvis, bassin

Deutsch (German)
n. - Becken

Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - (ανατ.) (νεφρική) πύελος, λεκάνη

Italiano (Italian)
pelvi, bacino

Português (Portuguese)
n. - pélvis (f)

Русский (Russian)
таз

Español (Spanish)
n. - pelvis

Svenska (Swedish)
n. - bäcken (anat.)

中文(简体)(Chinese (Simplified))
骨盆

中文(繁體)(Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 骨盆

한국어 (Korean)
n. - 골반

日本語 (Japanese)
n. - 骨盤

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(الاسم) حوض, تجويف‏

עברית (Hebrew)
n. - ‮אגן-הירכיים‬


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