What is the pelvis?

What it is

• The pelvis, so called from its resemblance to a basin, is a bony ring, interposed between the movable vertebræ of the vertebral column which it supports, and the lower limbs upon which it rests; it is stronger and more massively constructed than the wall of the cranial or thoracic cavities, and is composed of four bones: the two hip bones laterally and in front and the sacrum and coccyx behind.
• The pelvis is divided by an oblique plane passing through the prominence of the sacrum, the arcuate and pectineal lines, and the upper margin of the symphysis pubis, into the greater and the lesser pelvis. The circumference of this plane is termed the linea terminalis or pelvic brim. The Greater or False Pelvis ( pelvis major ). —The greater pelvis is the expanded portion of the cavity situated above and in front of the pelvic brim.
• It is bounded on either side by the ilium; in front it is incomplete, presenting a wide interval between the anterior borders of the ilia, which is filled up in the fresh state by the parietes of the abdomen; behind is a deep notch on either side between the ilium and the base of the sacrum. It supports the intestines, and transmits part of their weight to the anterior wall of the abdomen.