Word of the Day
Ilia (IH-lee-uh)
Common clue: Pelvic bones
Definition: Plural of Ilium - the largest, widest bones constituting both halves of the pelvis.
Human
male pelvis – viewed from the front
The pelvis is symmetrical and each side is actually made up of three separate bones — the upper half (the broad "wings") is the ilium; the middle (the top half of the lower "loops") is the pubis, and the bottom (the lower half of the "loops") is the ischium. These three bones fuse together with age and are collectively known as the hip bone, ossa coxae or the innominate bone. The pelvis is joined to the sacrum bone by ligaments, and the hip bones nest in specially shaped sockets (the acetabulum) on each side. The place at the front of the pelvis where the two sides join together is called the symphysis pubis. This is normally a very inflexible joint, but it softens and becomes more flexible during late pregnancy, allowing it to expand during labour for the baby's head to pass through. A female pelvis is also wider and shallower than a male pelvis.
This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html). It uses material from the http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pelvis
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