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 CHAPTER XI.

THE PELVIS AND THE GENITAL ORGANS.

—Front view of the pelvis, with its ligaments. (Dorland.) a, Anterior sacro-iliac ligament; b, iliofemoral ligament; c, obturator membrane; d, symphysis pubis; e, sacrosciatic ligament.

The Pelvis.—Before taking up the pelvic organs, the pelvis itself should be described. The name pelvis has been given to the bony ring which is interposed between the spine and the femurs on account of its resemblance to a basin. At the back of this basin or pelvis are the sacrum and coccyx, already described in connection with the back, and at the sides and meeting in the median line in front are the two ossa innominata or ''nameless bones'', so called on account of their peculiar and indescribable shape. At birth each os innominatum is made up of three bones, the ilium, ischium, and pubes, but about the age of puberty the three become welded into