Girish Mahajan (Editor)

Obturator foramen

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Latin
  
foramen obturatum

FMA
  
16999

TA
  
A02.5.01.008

Obturator foramen

The obturator foramen (Latin foramen obturatum) is the large opening created by the ischium and pubis bones of the pelvis through which nerves and blood vessels pass.

Contents

Structure

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

    • Variation

    Reflecting the overall sex differences between male and female pelvises, the obturator foramina are oval in the male and wider and more triangular in the female.

    Additionally, unilateral pelvis hypoplasia can cause differences in size between the obturator foramina, and there are even rare reports of individual pelvises featuring a double obturator foramen in one of the hip bones.

    Function

    Through the canal the obturator artery, obturator vein and obturator nerve pass out of the pelvis.

    References

    Obturator foramen Wikipedia
    (Text) CC BY-SA