Skip to main content

1850SappeyMPC

 

The author expresses the opinion that the primary role of the ligamentum capitis femoris (LCF) is to protect the blood vessels supplying the femoral head. We believe that 1820PallettaGB was the first to express such a point of view. M.P.C. Sappey describes the macro and microanatomy of the LCF and draws attention to its three bundles, which attach to various parts of the acetabulum. However, the anatomist does not indicate that LCF originates from the transverse ligament of the acetabulum.


 

SappeyMPC. Manuel d’anatomie descriptive et de préparations anatomiques. Tome premièr. Ostéologie, Arthrologie, Myologie et Aponévrologie, avec 114 figures intercalées dans le texte. Paris: Germer Baillière, 1850. [fragments]

Quote p. 96

La tête fémorale est une éminence de forme sphérique, dirigée en haut et en dedans, lisse et revêtue de cartilages dans sa partie supérieure et interne pour s'articuler avec la cavité cotyloïde, et déprimée à son sommet pour l'insertion du ligament rond.

The head of the femur is a prominence of spherical shape, directed upwards and inwards, smooth and covered with cartilage in its upper and inner part for articulation with the acetabulum, and depressed at the apex for the attachment of the round ligament.

Quote pp. 143-144

2° Ligament interarticulaire. Ce cordon fibreux, appelé aussi ligament rond, s'étend de la dépression qu'on observe au centre de la surface articulaire du fémur, à la dépression correspondante de la cavité cotyloïde, au niveau de laquelle il se décompose en trois bandelettes : l'une plus courte qui s'insère à la partie la plus interne de cette dépression, les deux autres plus longues qui s'attachent aux bords de l'échancrure destinée au passage des vaisseaux de l'articulation; ainsi disposé ce cordon constitue une gaîne infundibuliforme qui a pour usage, moins d'unir le fémur au bassin, que de loger et de protéger les vaisseaux intra-articulaires dans le trajet qu'ils parcourent depuis l'échancrure de la cavité cotyloïde jusqu'à la tête fémorale; car en l'absence de cet étui protecteur les vaisseaux fémoraux deviendraient évidemment impossibles; comment des vaisseaux aussi grêles supporteraient-ils les tractions violentes auxquelles ce ligament est soumis dans certains mouvements? ils se rompraient et disparaîtraient bientôt. Mais ces efforts étant supportés par une enveloppe fibreuse qui offre moins de longueur, ils demeurent intacts et le sang les parcourt librement.

Le tissu cellulo-graisseux qui occupe la dépression de la cavité cotyloïde est une sorte de coussinet sur lequel le ligament rond s'étale dans les divers mouvements du membre inférieur, et où il se trouve à l'abri de toute compression capable de suspendre la circulation dans les vaisseaux qu'il renferme.

La synoviale de l'articulation coxo-fémorale entoure ce ligament inter. articulaire, lui forme une sorte de petit mésentère, et se prolonge ensuite sur la face interne de la capsule fibreuse; elle est lâche en arrière et communique souvent en avant avec la bourse séreuse située au-dessous des muscles psoas et iliaque.

2. Interarticular ligament. This fibrous band, also known as the round ligament, extends from the depression observed in the center of the articular surface of the femur to the corresponding depression of the acetabulum, where it divides into three strips: one shorter, which attaches to the innermost part of this depression, and two longer ones attached to the edges of the notch, and intended for the passage of the joint vessels. Constructed in this way, this cord has a funnel-shaped sheath, the purpose of which is not so much to connect the femur to the pelvis, but to accommodate and protect the intra-articular vessels along the path from the notch of the acetabulum to the head of the femur; because without this protective sheath the hip vessels would obviously become impossible; how could such thin vessels withstand the strong tension to which this ligament is subjected during certain movements? They would soon rupture and disappear. But due to the fact that these loads are shunted by a fibrous membrane that has a shorter length, the vessels remain intact and blood flows freely through them.

The adipose tissue occupying the acetabular fossa is a kind of cushion on which the round ligament spreads out during various movements of the lower limb and is protected from any compression capable of impeding the circulation in the vessels it contains.

The synovial membrane of the hip joint surrounds this interarticular ligament, forming a kind of small mesentery, and then extends onto the inner surface of the fibrous capsule; it is loose at the back and often communicates at the front with the bursa located below the psoas and iliacus muscles.

Quote pp. 495-496

5o Artère circonflexe interne. Elle naît ordinairement de la profonde sur un point très rapproché de son origine et quelquefois du tronc de la fémorale. Son volume assez considérable est tantôt égal et tantôt supérieur à celui de la musculaire superficielle. Située à son origine au côté interne du tendon commun des muscles psoas et iliaque, elle s'introduit bientôt entre le pectiné et le col du fémur qu'elle contourne de dedans en dehors, de même que la circonflexe scapulaire postérieure contourne le col chirurgical de l'humerus, et arrive en longeant l'obturateur externe, au niveau du bord inférieur du muscle carré sous lequel elle se divise en deux branches terminales.

Avant sa bifurcation elle fournit:

1° Une branche articulaire qui se porte en haut, en avant et en dedans, parallèlement au ligament capsulaire sur lequel elle est appliquée, et pénètre dans l'articulation coxo-fémorale par l'échancrure de la cavité cotyloïde, en passant sous le cordon fibreux qui convertit en trou cette échancrure; parvenue à la base du ligament rond elle se partage: en rameaux cotyloïdiens qui se perdent soit dans le tissu cellulo-adipeux de l'arrièrefond de la cavité cotyloïde, soit dans les parois de cette cavité; et en rameaux femoraux qui traversent l'axe du ligament rond pour se rendre dans la tête du fémur au sommet de laquelle ils se distribuent.

2o Des branches périostiques fort remarquables qui traversent l'extrémité inférieure de la capsule articulaire et rampent de bas en haut, à la surface du col du fémur, sous la synoviale dont ils reçoivent au voisinage de la tête fémorale une enveloppe complète. Ces branches, très nombreuses, s'avancent jusqu'au niveau de la couche cartilagineuse, en s'anastomosant par des ramuscules latéraux; du périoste elles passent au col et à la tête du fémur, où les plus élevées communiquent avec les rameaux transmis par le ligament rond. A la suite d'une fracture intra-articulaire du col, ces derniers sont les seuls vaisseaux nutritifs qui arrivent à la tête du fémur; quoique d'une extrême ténuité, ils suffisent pour entretenir la vitalité de ce fragment et permettre à un travail de consolidation osseuse ou fibreuse de s'accomplir.

 

 

Internal circumflex artery. It usually arises from the deep artery very close to its origin and sometimes from the femoral artery trunk. Its quite significant volume sometimes equals, and sometimes exceeds, the volume of the superficial muscular artery. Starting its course from the inner side of the common tendon of the lumbar and iliac muscles, it soon penetrates between the pectineus muscle and the neck of the femur, which it circumvents from the inside to the outside, similar to how the posterior circumflex humeral artery circumvents the surgical neck of the humerus, and reaches along the external obturator muscle, at the level of the lower edge of the quadratus femoris muscle, where it divides into two terminal branches.

Before its bifurcation, it provides:

1. An articular branch that extends upward, forward, and inward, parallel to the capsular ligament on which it is applied, and enters the hip joint through the acetabular notch, passing beneath the fibrous fibers that convert this notch into a hole; upon reaching the base of the round ligament, it divides into: acetabular branches, which are lost either in the adipose tissue at the bottom of the acetabulum or in the walls of this cavity; and femoral branches, which cross the axis of the round ligament and reach the head of the femur, where at the apex they branch.

2. Very remarkable are the periosteal branches which cross the lower end of the joint capsule and follow from below upward along the surface of the femoral neck, under the synovial membrane, from which they receive a complete sheath in the region of the femoral head. These branches, very numerous, reach the level of the cartilaginous layer, anastomosing with the lateral branches; from the periosteum they pass to the neck and head of the femur, where higher branches connect with branches passing through the round ligament. After an intra-articular fracture of the neck, the latter are the only nutrient vessels reaching the head of the femur; although they are extremely thin, they are sufficient to maintain the viability of this fragment and allow the process of osteo- or fibrous regeneration to begin.





External links

Sappey MPC. Manuel d’anatomie descriptive et de préparations anatomiques. Tome premièr. Ostéologie, Arthrologie, Myologie et Aponévrologie, avec 114 figures intercalées dans le texte. Paris: Germer Baillière, 1850. [archive.org , books.google]

 

Authors & Affiliations

 

Marie Philibert Constant Sappey (1810-1896) was a French anatomist, a Professor of anatomy in Paris, President of the Académie Nationale de Médecine. [wikipedia.org]

 

Portrait of Constant Sappey (1871)
Photography Pierre Petit; Gualbert the copyright holder of this work; original in the 
wikimedia.org collection (GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.2, color correction)

  

Sappey, Marie Philibert Constant (1894)
The author of the image is S. Reymond? (see 
Corlieu A. Centenaire de la Faculté de Médecine de Paris (1794-1894). Paris, 1894.); original in the BIU Santé Médecine collection, image: CIPN21614 (Licence Ouverte / Open License, color correction)



Keywords

ligamentum capitis femoris, ligamentum teres, ligament of head of femur, role, significance, anatomy, blood supply, vascularization, stroma, microanatomy, structure

                                                                     .

NB! Fair practice / use: copied for the purposes of criticism, review, comment, research and private study in accordance with Copyright Laws of the US: 17 U.S.C. §107; Copyright Law of the EU: Dir. 2001/29/EC, art.5/3a,d; Copyright Law of the RU: ГК РФ ст.1274/1.1-2,7

MORPHOLOGY AND TOPOGRAPHY

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

LCF in 2026 (July)

    LCF in 2026 (July )  (Quotes from articles and books published in July   2026 mentioning the ligamentum capitis femoris)     Çetik, R. M., Bakırcıoğlu, S., Büyükdoğan, K., Çağlar, Ö., Atay, Ö. A., & Atilla, B. (2026). Cam-type femoro-acetabular impingement: Mid-term functional results and joint awareness of arthroscopic, mini-open and surgical dislocation techniques. Acta Medica , 57 (2), 123-131.   [i]    actamedica.org   Khan, M. Y., Khan, R., Shaikh, H., Persaud, N. A., Rama, S., & Khan, Y. (2026). Evolution of Hip Arthroscopy in Modern Orthopedic Practice. Cureus , 18 (6).   [ii]   cureus.com   Sanders, W. J., Ji, X. P., & Jablonski, N. G. (2026). New remains of Stegodon zhaotongensis (Proboscidea, Stegodontidae) from the Late Miocene site of Shuitangba, Yunnan Province, China. Journal of Mammalian Evolution , 33 (3), 33.   [iii]   link.springer.com   Randelli, F. (2026...

80-58bcApollonius Citiensis

  Fragment from the treatise Apollonius Citiensis Commentary on the Hippocrates’ book On Joints ( Περὶ αρθρων π ραγματεὶα , 80-58 BC). The author notes the possibility of damage to the ligamentum capitis femoris (LCF) during hip dislocation. See our commentary at the link: 80-58bcApollonius Citiensis [Rus], and  2020ArkhipovSV_ProlyginaIV . Quote. [Grc] Περὶ αρθρων π ραγματεὶα . Βιβλιον γ ʹ . (original source:  1965KolleschJ_KudlienF, pp. 86, 88) Translation [Eng] Commentary On Joints ( Commentary on the Hippocrates’ book On Joints). Book 3. If the dislocated and displaced hip could not remain in place, then the physician [Hippocrates] would have clearly indicated the incurability of this case, so that we would not be led astray. Don't those who hold the opposite opinion know about the nature of joints, ligaments and the teachings about these things in general? After all, the physician considered the cause of the mild or, on the contrary, complex displacement and ...

1858IvanovAA

  Ivanov A.A., Jacob’s Wrestling with God (1849-1858) .  Depicting the circumstances and mechanism of the ligamentum capitis femoris (LCF) injury based on the description in the Book of Genesis: 25 And Jacob was left alone; and there wrestled a man with him until the breaking of the day. 26 And when he saw that he could not pre vail against him, he struck against the hollow of his thigh ; and the hollow of Jacob's thigh was put out of joint, as he was wrestling with him. … 33 Therefore do the children of Israel not eat the sinew which shrank, which is upon the hollow of the thigh, unto this day; because he struck against the hollow of Jacob's thigh on the sinew that shrank.  ( 1922LeeserI , Genesis (Bereshit) 32:25-26,33) More about the plot in our work:  Ninth month, eleventh day   ( 2024 АрхиповСВ. Девятый месяц, одиннадцатый день ).     Alexander Ivanov – Jacob’s Wrestling with God (1849-1858);  original in the  ekzeget.ru    col...

1605BauhinC

  Fragment from the book Bauhin C. Theatrum anatomicum (1605). The author writes about the attachment, function, possible elongation and damage of the ligamentum capitis femoris (LCF). Lameness after dislocation is mentioned and its cause is explained. In the margins of the page are references to the works of other authors Vesalius , Laurens , Arch ang ( Archangelo Piccolomini ??? ) . Quote p. 1244. Liber IV. DE LIGAMENTIS OSSIS ILII & sacri et que in toto pede habentur. CAP. XXXIX. Femur, coxendicis articulo duplici ligamento nectitur; altero communi membrane, articulum orbiculatim ambit, quod Græci [ischos], totius articuli nomine vocarunt; quod cætera, articulos ambientia crassitie, duritie, & robore su perat, cum articulus hic corpus totum sustinere & motus validos perferre debuerit. Hoc articulo & femoris ceruici accumbit & solum radici magni processus orbiculatim adnascitur, quo motus capitis ipsius femoris non impediantur. Alterum ipsius ligamentum teres...

Human LCF intersection

HUMAN LCF INTERSECTION In the south of China, in the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, the archaeological Neolithic site of Dingsishan was investigated. Burials of 355 people were found in this place. The authors of the article (2024YeZ_LiFJ) identified 91 skeletons with traces of manipulations with the remains. They are attributed to burials of the Dingsishan III-IV phase, aged 8.0-4.5 thousand years. 13 notches were found on the proximal part of various femurs. « Cutmarks on the femoral head, neck and intertrochanteric line, as well as along the medial linea aspera of the femoral shaft, suggest that soft tissue around the hip, including the iliofemoral ligament and the iliacus and adductor muscles, was severed to disarticulate the joint.» This and other postmortem bone injuries «... suggests that corpse treatment at Dingsishan included disarticulation » (2024YeZ_LiFJ).  Figure 4 of the cited article shows the distribution and direction of cutmarks on human skeletons from Dingx...

911-612bcK2453

  Fragment of the text of clay tablet K 2453 (Nineveh; ca. 911-612 BC; maybe 5000-4000 BC). A recommendation for a ritual or magical act may mention the sheep's ligamentum capitis femoris (LCF). See our commentary at the link: 911-612bcK2453 [Rus]. Quote [Akk] Clay tablet К 2453 (original source: photo  by Ashurbanipal Library Project   cdli.mpiwg-berlin.mpg.de , text: 1906 ThompsonRC , plate. 12). Translation [Eng] Clay tablet К 2453 (reverse ) 42. (if a man’s leg is affected) SA ÚR UDU.NITÁ ša GÙB teleqqe you take the sinew from the left thigh of a sheep ( original source: 1992RothMT , p. 312). ( original source:  Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative   cdli.mpiwg-berlin.mpg.de )  External links Clay tablet; CT 23, pl. 05-14, K 02453 + (P365736). Nineveh (mod. Kuyunjik), Neo-Assyrian period (ca. 911-612 BC). [ cdli.mpiwg-berlin.mpg.de , ebl.lmu.de ] Thompson RC. Cuneiform Texts. Cuneiform Texts from Babylonian Tablets in the British Museum.  P...

Inferior Portal. Part 1.

  Original in Russian is available at the link:  Нижний портал. Часть 1.  below is a machine translation edited by a non-native speaker  ( version dated 03/02/2025 ) .     INFERIOR PORTAL FOR HIP ARTHROSCOPY: A PILOT STUDY PART 1. Background and Hypothesis Arkhipov S.V., Independent Researcher, Joensuu, Finland Abstract: The article presents, theoretically and graphically substantiates the technique of a new arthroscopic approach to the central compartment of the hip joint. It is proposed to introduce the optical system of the arthroscope from below through the acetabular notch without traction. Similar approaches were used for puncture, arthroscopy, arthrography, and arthrotomy of the hip joint. Diagnostics using the described lower portal will exclude complications caused by distraction of the leg and compression of the perineal support during surgery.   CONTENTS PART 1. Background and Hypothesis [1] . Introduction [2] . Passage through t...

1894KeithA

  A fragment from the article by Keith A. The ligaments of the catarrhine monkeys, with references to corresponding structures in man (1894). The paper discusses the development, anatomy, and presence of the ligamentum capitis femoris (LCF) in various monkeys. The author found in an experiment that the gibbon's LCF strength is more than 11 kg. For reference: the black-handed gibbon (Hylobates agilis) can weigh up to 8 kg ( wikipedia.org ), and the white-handed gibbon (Hylobates lar) weighs 5-7 kg ( sakhalinzoo.ru ).   Quote pp. 1 58-159. Ligaments of the Hip-Joint. – Professor Bischoff (1) observed that the ligamentum teres of the hip-joint was well developed in the Gorilla. This observation has several times been verified in the Chimpanzee: Owen (2) and Langer (3) found it absent in the Orang, although traces were present. In the Gibbon it is invariably present, and after the limb was severed from the trunk by all but the ligamentum teres, I found it sustained a weight of 25 ...

Hip disarticulation of the human

  Hip disarticulation of the human Hip disarticulation of the human. Postmortem surgery with transection of the LCF in humans 15-12.5 thousand years ago. Presumably, the first postmortem arthrotomy of the hip joint with disarticulation was performed in Morocco 15.000-12.500 years ago. This is confirmed by multiple cuts on the femoral neck of a man from the burial of Taf V-18 ( Taforalt Iberomaurusian necropolis ). «T he cuts on the femoral neck were produced by severing the ligaments of the articular capsula in order to disarticulate the bone from the pelvis. There are no pelvic bones in the grave.» ( 2016MariottiV_CondemiS:Fig.2 ). We counted more than a dozen longitudinal, fairly deep cuts in the middle part of the femoral neck. Their length varies from about two to ten millimeters and occupies a surface of 1 cm along the length of the femoral neck and 2 cm in width. The mentioned cuts on the cortical plate and the absence of pelvic bones in the burial are evidence of the disarti...

THE OLDEST LCF

  The very first four-legged animal, the lobe-finned fish Tiktaalik roseae, lived about 375 million years ago. Based on indirect evidence (paired notches of the acetabulum), we believe that in the hip joint it had two ligaments of the head of femur, in Latin called ligamentum capitis femoris (LCF). A similar anatomy of the hip joint is preserved in the salamander. Illustration Tiktaalik roseae is the first animal to have a LCF A) 3D model of the right pelvic bone of the fish Tiktaalik roseae (fragment of a screenshot:  media.hhmi.org ), where we depicted the dissected anterior LCF (lig.cap.fem.ant.) and posterior LCF (lig.cap.fem.post.), that are attached to the corresponding notches of the acetabulum ( inc.ac.ant. & inc.ac.post.).  Below the pelvis is a photograph of our model of the Tiktaalik roseae femur with fragments of two LCFs (a fossil femur of Tiktaalik roseae has not yet been discovered). B) View of a salamander femur with a proximal fragment of the ilia...