Obturator foramen

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Obturator foramen

The two circles at the bottom are the obturator foramena.

Right hip bone. External surface. (Obturator foramen visible near bottom)
Latin	foramen obturatum
Gray's	subject #57 237

The obturator foramen is the hole created by the ischium and pubic bones of the pelvis through which nerves and muscles pass.

In the male it is large and of an oval form, its longest diameter slanting obliquely from before backward.
in the female it is smaller, and more triangular.

It is bounded by a thin, uneven margin, to which a strong membrane is attached, and presents, superiorly, a deep groove, the obturator groove, which runs from the pelvis obliquely medialward and downward.

This groove is converted into the obturator canal by a ligamentous band, a specialized part of the obturator membrane, attached to two tubercles:

one, the posterior obturator tubercle, on the medial border of the ischium, just in front of the acetabular notch
the other, the anterior obturator tubercle, on the obturator crest of the superior ramus of the pubis

Through the canal the obturator vessels and obturator nerve pass out of the pelvis.

[edit] See also

[edit] Additional images

Male pelvis.	Human female pelvis, viewed from front.	Symphysis pubis exposed by a coronal section.	Variations in origin and course of obturator artery.
The relations of the femoral and abdominal inguinal rings, seen from within the abdomen. Right side.

[edit] External links

SUNY Labs 17:st-0205 - "Major Joints of the Lower Extremity: hip and sacrum (anterior view)"
Atlas of anatomy at UMich male_urethrogram - "Pelvis & Perineum: Male Urethrogram"
Photo at vc.cc.tx.us

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 As such, some of the information contained herein may be outdated.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.