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1853KnoxR

 

We publish selected quotations about ligamentum capitis femoris (LCF) from Knox R. Manual of Human Anatomy (1853). The author points out that LCF is a thick and dense bundle of fibers. It is attached to the edges of the acetabular notch and intertwined with the fibers of the fibrocartilaginous ring of the acetabulum. Robert Knox writes: «The functions of the round ligament have not been satisfactorily determined.»

Quote p. 142

Fig. 104. - This instructive section of the hip-joint requires little or no explanation. - d points to the superior part of the capsular ligament.

Fig. 105. - Capsular ligament of the hip-joint; also Poupart's ligament. - a, the capsular ligament; b, the oblique, or accessory ligament of the joint; d, attachment of the external pillar of Poupart's ligament to the tubercle of the pubis; e, deep structures immediately behind that portion of Poupart's ligament, called the ligament of Gimbernat; c, ligamentum obturatorium.

 

Quote pp. 143-144

The fibro-cartilaginous ring or border surrounding the cotyloid cavity, and strongly attached to its border, has been called the cotyloid ligament. By means of this fibro-cartilaginous ring the cavity is deepened and strengthened; by inclining inwards at its free margin it seems also to embrace somewhat the head of the femur, rendering the joint air-tight. The free edge of the cotyloid ligament is thinner than the fixed edge or base; the free edge is covered on both sides by the synovial membrane, and thus the outer surface of the fibrocartilage is in contact with the synovial membrane, covering the fibrous capsule, whilst its inner side lies on the surface of the head of the femur. At the cotyloid notch the fibres of the cotyloid ligament pass across from one side to the other, crossing each other so as to make the ring complete. This portion has been called the transverse ligament. Beneath it, as below an arch, pass the vessels which proceed by the round ligament to reach the head of the bone.

The interarticular ligament (Ligamentum teres) is a thick and dense fasciculus of fibres, implanted, by its rounded extremity, in the fovea or pit seen on the head of the femur. At the other extremity, by which it is attached to the margins of the cotyloid notch, intermingling with the fibres of the cotyloid ligament, the so-called round ligament is broad, flat, and bifid, or, at least, triangular.

A tubular process of the synovial membrane invests this ligament throughout its length; the mechanism of this can be explained only by the anatomy of the embryo. The ligament varies in strength and thickness, and is said even occasionally to be wanting; such an occurrence, although possibly it may have been congenital, was more probably pathological.*

 

*I have observed it once absent in a middle aged man. There was also atrophy of the cartilages of incrustation.

 

The synovial membrane invests the interior of the capsular ligament, and the exterior of the round ligament. It covers, no doubt, the cartilages of incrustation, the cotyloid ligament, and the neck of the femur. On the neck of the femur it is separated from the bone by a fibrous structure only, serving the purpose of a periosteum. Like other synovial membranes, it is smooth and lubricated on its inner surface by the synovia. The student should trace it over all its surfaces, observing carefully its various points of reflexion. This can only be done after the joint has been laid open. For a thorough examination and demonstration of this joint, as of most, several dissections and preparations are required.

In the fovea of the cotyloid cavity, and near the root of the round ligament, is a large packet of fat; fringes also of the synovial membrane exist here. The nature of these has been already alluded to.

The capsular ligament is traversed by a number of blood-vessels, and nerves have been traced to it. The functions of the round ligament have not been satisfactorily determined. It is absent in the strongest of all animals-the elephant.

Quote p. 388

Obturator artery. … At its exit from the pelvis, on the upper edge of the obturator muscle, the artery sends a branch to each obturator muscle; some twigs from this reach the capsular ligament of the hip-joint. A small but remarkable branch penetrates into the cotyloid cavity by the notch, and thus reaches the round ligament and the head of the femur. An anterior branch of the obturator artery descends between the long and short adductors, giving twigs to these muscles and to the adductor magnus, pectineus, gracilis, and obturator externus. It anastomoses with the internal circumflex. 


External links

Knox R. Manual of Human Anatomy: Descriptive, Practical, and General. London: H. Renshaw, 1853. [books.google] 

Authors & Affiliations

Robert Knox (1791-1862) was a Scottish anatomist and ethnologist. [wikipedia.org] 

Dr. Robert Knox (1860s ?) 
Unknown author; original in the wikimedia.org collection
 (CC0 – Public Domain, no changes)

Keywords

ligamentum capitis femoris, ligamentum teres, ligament of head of femur, anatomy

                                                                     

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