| Bone: Lesser pelvis | |
|---|---|
| Male pelvis. | |
| Female pelvis. | |
| Latin | pelvis minor |
| Gray's | subject #58 239 |
The lesser pelvis (or true pelvis) is that part of the space enclosed by the skeleton of the pelvis which is situated between the pelvic inlet and the pelvic floor. Some authors call this cavity the pelvic cavity. Some others define the pelvic cavity as a larger space, nemely the whole space enclosed by the skeleton of the pelvis, formed by the lesser pelvis (below the pelvic inlet) and the greater or false pelvis (above the pelvic inlet).
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The roof of the lesser pelvis is the pelvic inlet, an oblique planar surface defined by the pelvic brim. Its lower boundary is the pelvic floor. The lesser pelvis is bounded in front and below by the pubic symphysis and the superior rami of the pubes; above and behind, by the pelvic surfaces of the sacrum and coccyx, which, curving forward above and below, contract the superior and inferior apertures of the cavity; laterally, by a broad, smooth, quadrangular area of bone, corresponding to the inner surfaces of the body and superior ramus of the ischium and that part of the ilium which is below the arcuate line.
From this description it will be seen that the cavity of the lesser pelvis is a short, curved canal, considerably deeper on its posterior than on its anterior wall.
The lesser pelvis contains, in the fresh subject, the pelvic colon, rectum, bladder, and some of the organs of generation.
The rectum is placed at the back of the pelvis, in the curve of the sacrum and coccyx; the bladder is in front, behind the pubic symphysis.
In the female the uterus and vagina occupy the interval between these viscera.
This article was originally based on an entry from a public domain edition of Gray's Anatomy. As such, some of the information contained within it may be outdated.
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