Obturator foramen

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Bone: 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.

See also

• Obturator internus muscle
• Obturator externus muscle

Additional images

Radiograph of a healthy human hip joint	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.

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 As such, some of the information contained herein may be outdated.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

v • d • e Bones of pelvis/pelvic cavity
General	sacrum, coccyx, hip bone
Ilium	Body (Arcuate line) Wing: gluteal lines (Posterior, Anterior, Inferior) - Fossa - iliac spines (Anterior superior, Anterior inferior, Posterior superior, Posterior inferior) - Crest - Tuberosity
Ischium	Body (Ischial spine, Lesser sciatic notch) - Superior ramus (Tuberosity of the ischium) - Inferior ramus
Pubis	Body - Superior ramus (Pubic tubercle, Pubic crest, Obturator crest) - Inferior ramus (Pectineal line)
Compound	Acetabulum (Acetabular notch) - Iliopubic eminence/Iliopectineal line - Linea terminalis - Ischiopubic ramus/Pubic arch Obturator foramen - Greater sciatic foramen/Greater sciatic notch - Lesser sciatic foramen Lesser pelvis (Pelvic inlet, Pelvic brim, Pelvic outlet) - Greater pelvis

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Acknowledgement and Attribution Regarding Sources of Content

Some of the initial content on this page may be incorporated in part from copyleft sources in the public domain including wikis such as Wikipedia and AskDrWiki. Drug information for patients came from the The National Library of Medicine. Infectious disease information may have come from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC). Differential Diagnoses are drawn from clinicians as well as an amalgamation of 3 sources: 1.The Disease Database; 2. Kahan, Scott, Smith, Ellen G. In A Page: Signs and Symptoms. Malden, Massachusetts: Blackwell Publishing, 2004:3; 3. Sailer, Christian, Wasner, Susanne. Differential Diagnosis Pocket. Hermosa Beach, CA: Borm Bruckmeir Publishing LLC, 2002:7 .