Skip to main content

1887GrayH

 

Fragments from the book Gray H. Anatomy, descriptive and surgical (1887; edition: a new American, from the 11th English ed.). The selected passages on the anatomy of the ligamentum capitis femoris (LCF) and original illustrations of Henry Carter with additional drawings in later editions. 


Quote p. 177

The cotyloid cavity, or acetabulum, is a deep, cup-shaped, hemispherical depression, directed downward, outward, and forward; formed internally by the os pubis, above by the ilium, behind and below by the ischium, a little less than two-fifths being formed by the ilium, a little more than two-fifths by the ischium, and the remaining fifth by the pubic bone. It is bounded by a prominent, uneven rim, which is thick and strong above, and serves for the attachment of the cotyloid ligament, which contracts its orifice and deepens the surface for articulation. It presents below a deep notch, the cotyloid notch, which is continuous with a circular depression, the fossa acetabuli, at the bottom of the cavity: this depression is perforated by numerous apertures, lodges a mass of fat, and its margins, as well as those of the notch, serve for the attachment of the ligamentum teres. The notch is converted, in the natural state, into a foramen by a dense ligamentous band which passes across it. Through this foramen the nutrient vessels and nerves enter the joint.


Quote p. 184

The head, which is globular, and forms rather more than a hemisphere, is directed upward, inward, and a little forward, the greater part of its convexity being above and in front. Its surface is smooth, coated with cartilage in the recent state, except at a little behind and below its centre, where is an ovoid depression, for the attachment for the ligamentum teres. 

Fig. 126. — Right Femur. Anterior Surface. [fragment]


Quote pp. 251-252

Supplemental Bands of the Capsular Ligament. — In addition to the coracohumeral ligament, the capsular ligament is strengthened by supplemental bands in the interior of the joint. One of these bands is situated on the inner side of the joint, and passes from the inner edge of the glenoid cavity to the inner part of the lesser tuberosity of the humerus. This is sometimes known as Flood's ligament, and is supposed to correspond with the ligamentum teres of the hip-joint. A second of these bands is situated at the lower part of the joint, and passes from the under edge of the glenoid cavity to the under part of the neck of the humerus, and is known as Schlemm’s ligament. A third, called the gleno-humeral ligament, is situated at the upper part of the joint, and projects into its interior, so that it can be seen only when the capsule is opened. It is attached above to the apex of the glenoid cavity, close to the root of the coracoid process, and, passing downward along the inner edge of the tendon of the Biceps, is attached below to the lesser tuberosity of the humerus, where it forms the inner boundary of the upper part of the bicipital groove. It is a thin, ribbon-like band, occasionally quite free from the capsule.


Quote p. 268

I. Hip-joint (Fig. 179). This articulation is an enarthrodial or ball-and-socket joint, formed by the reception of the head of the femur into the cup-shaped cavity of the acetabulum. The articulating surfaces are covered with cartilage, that on the head of the femur being thicker at the centre than at the circumference, and covering the entire surface, with the exception of a depression just below its centre for the ligamentum teres; that covering the acetabulum is much thinner at the centre than at the circumference. It forms an incomplete cartilaginous ring of a horseshoe shape, being deficient below, where there is a circular depression, which is occupied in the recent state by a mass of fat covered by synovial membrane. The ligaments of the joints are the Capsular. Teres. Ilio-femoral. Cotyloid. Transverse.

Fig. 179. — Left hip-joint laid open.


Quote p. 270

The Ligamentum Teres is a triangular band implanted by its apex into the depression a little behind and below the centre of the head of the femur, and by its broad base into the margins of the cotyloid notch, becoming blended with the transverse ligament. It is formed of connective tissue, surrounded by a tubular sheath of synovial membrane. Sometimes only the synovial fold exists, or the ligament may be altogether absent. The ligament is made tense when the hip is semiflexed, and the limb then adducted and rotated outward; it is, on the other hand, relaxed when the limb is abducted. It has, however, but little influence as a ligament, though it may to a certain extent limit movement, and would appear to be merely a modification of the folds which in other joints fringe the margins of reflection of synovial membranes (see page 218). 

Fig. 180. — Hip-joint, showing the ilio-femoral ligament. (After Bigelow.)


Quote p. 271

The Synovial Membrane is very extensive. Commencing at the margin of the cartilaginous surface of the head of the femur, it covers all that portion of the neck which is contained within the joint; from the neck it is reflected on the internal surface of the capsular ligament, covers both surfaces of the cotyloid ligament and the mass of fat contained in the depression at the bottom of the acetabulum, and is prolonged in the form of a tubular sheath around the ligamentum teres, as far as the head of the femur. It sometimes communicates through a hole in the capsular ligament between the inner band of the Y-shaped ligament and the pubo-femoral ligament with a bursa situated on the under surface of the Ilio-psoas muscle.

Fig. 181. — Vertical section through hip-joint. (Henle.)


Quote pp. 271-272

Actions. — The movements of the hip are very extensive, and consist of flexion, extension, adduction, abduction, circumduction, and rotation.

The hip-joint presents a very striking contrast to the shoulder-joint in the much more complete mechanical arrangements for its security and for the limitation of its movements. In the shoulder, as we have seen, the head of the humerus is not adapted at all in size to the glenoid cavity, and is hardly restrained in any of its ordinary movements by the capsular ligament. In the hip-joint, on the contrary, the head of the femur is closely fitted to the acetabulum for a distance extending over nearly half a sphere, and at the margin of the bony cup it is still more closely embraced by the cotyloid ligament, so that the head of the femur is held in its place by that ligament even when the fibres of the capsule have been quite divided (Humphry). The anterior portion of the capsule, described as the ilio-femoral ligament, is the strongest of all the ligaments in the body, and is put on the stretch by any attempt to extend the femur beyond a straight line with the trunk. That is to say, this ligament is the chief agent in maintaining the erect position without muscular fatigue; for a vertical line passing through the centre of gravity of the trunk falls behind the centres of rotation in the hip-joints, and therefore the pelvis tends to fall backward, but is prevented by the tension of the ilio-femoral and capsular ligaments. The security of the joint may be also provided for by the two bones being directly united through the ligamentum teres; but it is doubtful whether this so-called ligament can have much influence upon the mechanism of the joint. Flexion of the hip-joint is arrested by the soft parts of the thigh and abdomen being brought into contact when the leg is flexed on the thigh; and by the action of the hamstring muscles when the leg is extended;(1) extension, by the tension of the ilio-femoral ligament and front of the capsule; adduction, by the thighs coming into contact ; adduction, with flexion by the outer band of the ilio-femoral ligament, the outer part of the capsular ligament ; abduction, by the inner band of the ilio-femoral ligament and the pubo-femoral band; rotation outward, by the outer band of the ilio-femoral ligament; and rotation inward, by the ischio-capsular ligament and the hinder part of the capsule. The muscles which flex the femur on the pelvis are the Psoas, Iliacus, Rectus, Sartorius, Pectineus, Adductor longus and brevis, and the anterior fibres of the Gluteus medius and minimus. Extension is mainly performed by the Gluteus maximus, assisted by the hamstring muscles. The thigh is adducted by the Adductor magnus, longus, and brevis, the Pectineus, the Gracilis, and lower part of the Gluteus maximus, and abducted by the Gluteus medius and minimus and upper part of the Gluteus maximus. The muscles which rotate the thigh inward are the anterior fibres of the Gluteus medius, the Gluteus minimus, and the Tensor fasciae femoris; while those which rotate it outward are the posterior fibres of the Gluteus medius, the Pyriformis, Obturator externus and internus. Gemellus superior and inferior, Quadratus femoris, Iliacus, Gluteus maximus, the three Adductors, the Pectineus, and the Sartorius.

1) The hip-joint cannot be completely flexed, in most persons, without at the same time flexing the knee, on account of the shortness of the hamstring muscles. — Cleland, Journ. of Anat. and Phys., No. 1, Old Series, p. 87.


 

External links

Gray H. Anatomy, descriptive and surgical; the drawings by H.V. Carter, ... with additional drawings in later editions. Philadelphia: Lea Bros., 1887. [hdl.handle.net]

Authors & Affiliations

Henry Gray (1825-1861) was a British anatomist and surgeon. [wikipedia.org] 

Henry Gray
Author: H. Pollock, unknown date;
original in the 
wikimedia.org collection (CC BY 4.0, no changes).

Henry Vandyke Carter (1831-1897) was an English anatomist, surgeon, and anatomical artist. [wikipedia.org]

 

Henry Vandyke Carter (ca. 1870)
Author: Henry Vandyke Carter;
original in the 
wikimedia.org collection (CC0 – Public Domain, no changes).


Keywords

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

                                                                     

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

NEWS 2024-2025

  New publications of our resource   in 2024-2025 January 01, 2026 LCF in 2025 (December)   Q uotes from articles and b ooks published in December 2025 mentioning the LCF.  1946SpychalskiJ  Painting, Drawing depicting the circumstances and mechanism of the LCF injury.   1975BorsosM Painting, Drawing depicting the circumstances and mechanism of the LCF injury.  13c.Soligalich  Icon, Drawing depicting the circumstances and mechanism of the LCF injury. December 31, 2025 Tweet of December 31, 2025   Online Journ al «ABOUT R OUND LIGAMENT OF FEMUR», December 2025 December 30, 2025 Tweet of December 30, 2025 December 29, 2025 Tweet of Decembe r 29, 2025    Arkhipov SV. Improving Postoperative Comfort    (facebook) December 28, 2025 Arkhipov SV.  Improving Postoperative Comfort and Increasing the Reliability of Hip Prostheses by Supplementing with Artificial Ligaments December 23, 2025 University_of_G uelph(...

LCF in 2026 (May)

LCF in 2026 (May )  (Quotes from articles and books published in May   2026 mentioning the ligamentum capitis femoris)   Kim, P. S., Kang, C., Lee, J. K., & Hwang, J. M. (2026). Hip arthroscopy to treat symptomatic paralabral cysts: a retrospective analysis of clinical outcomes. Arthroscopy and Orthopedic Sports Medicine , 13 (1), 27-34.     [i]     e-aosm.org   Ko, H. Y. (2026). Vascular Anatomy of the Extremities and Lungs. In Practical Functional Anatomy for Spinal Cord Injury Rehabilitation: A Guide for Physiatrists and Rehabilitation Specialists (pp. 191-223). Singapore: Springer Nature Singapore.      [ii] link.springer.com   Aiba, H., Yamaguchi, M., Kimura, H., & Murakami, H. (2026). Advances in limb-salvage surgery and reconstruction for pediatric bone and soft tissue tumors. Frontiers in Pediatrics , 14 , 1817788.      [iii]     pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov   Bajwa, A., Villar, R., ...

1750DrakeJ

  Fragment from the book Drake J. Anthropologia nova: or, a new system of anatomy. … The Third Edition Corrected. (1750). The author does not name the ligamentum capitis femoris (LCF), but accurately describes its appearance (short, thick, and round), and indicates the attachment points. Quote p. 432 CHAP. VIII. Of the Bones and Muscles of the Thigh, Leg and Foot … The first of these is the largest and most prominent, and has a large round Head, capp’d with a Cartilage, which is receiv’d into the Acetabulum or Socket, at the Ischium or Os Coxendicis; to which it is fastned by two Ligaments: One broad, thick, and membranous, surrounding the whole Edge of the Acetabulum, and Head of the Bone: The other short, thick, and round, springing from the bottom of the Acetabulum, by the side of the Mucilaginous Gland, (which is here the most considerable of the whole Body) and is inserted into the middle of the Cartilaginous Head. The Epiphysis, or Neck of the Bone on which this Head is seate...

1869MivartG

  The author discusses his observations of LCF absence in chimpanzees and orangutans.   IX. Contributions towards a more complete knowledge of the Skeleton of the Primates . By Sr. George Mivart, F.L.S., Lecturer on Comparative Anatomy at St. Mary's Hospital. Part I. The Appendicular Skeleton of Simia. Read December 13th, 1866. [Pirates XXXV. to XLIII.] Quote p. 200 It is commonly asserted that the ligamentum teres is absent in. the Orang, as also the pit for its reception on the head of the femur (1). I find no trace of the latter in either femur of any specimen, with one exception (2); but in that. exceptional specimen each femur (Pl. XL. fig. 7 i) exhibits a small but distinct depression on its head in the place occupied in other forms by the pit for the round ligament. This absence has not, as far as I am aware, been noticed in Man or the Chimpanzee; but. in the Gorilla I have sometimes been unable to detect any trace of such a fossa on the head of the femu...

1823GerdyPN

  The author mentions their observation of the displacement of the femoral head from the acetabulum outwards when the ligamentum capitis femoris (LCF) is stretched. Continuing experimental research, P.N. Gerdy discovered that the LCF, when stretched during adduction, also displaces the femur in the caudal direction (see 1833GerdyPN ). The translation from German was done in collaboration with ChatGPT 3.5.   Gerdy PN. Recherches, discussions, et propositions d'Anatomie, de Physiologie, de Pathologie, etc. Paris: Béchet, 1823. [fragment] Quote pp. 9 5 PROPOSITIONS La luxation du fémur en haut et en dehors est plus facile que celle en bas et en dedans, surtout parce que le ligament interarticulaire tend à s enrouler autour de la tête du femur, dans une violente adduction et qu il tire l os en dehors. Je m en suis assuré par l observation directe.   ASSUMPTIONS Dislocating the femur upwards and outwards is easier...

Localization of LCF Pathology

  Version : 20240418 Localization of LCF pathology is classified based on the anatomical-topographical principle. It is assumed that the LCF does not end near the attachment site but penetrates into it. LOCALIZATION OF LCF PATHOLOGY 1. Middle part 2. Distal end 3. Proximal end 4. Distal attachment area 5. Proximal attachment area 6. Medial surface 7. Lateral surface 8. Anterior edge 9. Posterior edge 10. Transsynovial 11. Subsynovial 12. Total Lesion The medial surface faces the bottom of the acetabulum. The lateral surface faces the femoral head. Transsynovial pathology implies changes including or only involving the synovial membrane. Subsynovial pathology is localized exclusively beneath the synovial membrane of LCF. Pathology can involve multiple parts of LCF, for example, damage to the distal end and proximal attachment area in a transacetabular fracture.   The distal part of LCF attaches directly to the bone of fovea capitis femoris. Along...

2025ChatGPT. Baroque

  2025ChatGPT, painting «Jacob Wrestling with the Angel in Baroque Style». Depiction of the circumstances and mechanism of the ligamentum capitis femoris (LCF) injury based on the description in the Book of Genesis: 25 And Ja cob 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 ).     Jacob Wrestling with the Angel in Baroque Style. Created in collaboration with the ChatGPT langua...

163-192Galen

Fragment from the treatise Galen. On anatomical procedures (Περὶ Ἀνατομικῶν Ἐγχειρήσεων, ca. 163-192). The author writes about the high resiliency and hardness of ligamentum capitis femoris (LCF), and also notes its connective function. See our commentary at the link: 163-192Galen [Rus], and  2020ArkhipovSV_ProlyginaIV . Quote [Grc] Περὶ Ἀνατομικῶν Ἐγχειρήσεων. Βιβλιον B. K εφ . ι ʹ . Αλλά χρή σε, καθάπερ επί της χειρός επεσκέψω τους συνδέσμους των οστών, ούτω και νυν επισκέψασθαι πασών των γεγυμνωμένων διαρθρώσεων, πρώτης μεν της κατ' ισχίον, εχούσης ένα μεν εν κύκλω σύνδεσμον, απάντων των άρθρων κοινόν, (ουδέν γάρ έστιν, ότω μή περιβέβληται τοιούτος σύνδεσμος,) έτερον δε τον διά του βάθους εν τη διαρθρώσει κατακεκρυμμένον, ος συνάπτει την κεφαλήν του μηρού τη κατ' ισχίον κοιλότητι, πάνυ σκληρός ών, ώς ήδη δύνασθαι λέγεσθαι νεύρον χονδρώδες. (original source: 1821KühnCG, pp. 328-329) [Lat] De Anatomicis Administrationibus. Liber II. Cap. X. Verum considerare te convenit, ut i...

1898AshhurstJ

    Report Ashhurst J. Tuberculosis of the hip joint (1898). The author discusses the function of the LCF as a supporting element of the body, its role in the development of deformity of the hip joint, reducing pressure and stress in the femoral head. The most notable quotes:  «Of course, the whole weight of the body is not sustained by this ligament, but mostly by the head of the femur in more or less close contact with the cotyloid cavity; but this ligament, I believe, serves to diminish the pressure of the pelvis upon the head of the bone, and to lessen strain. The position of the ligamentum teres is like that of the old-fasioned leather springs which used to be found in stage- coaches, the body of the coach being balanced upon two broad strong bands of leather. The pelvis is to a certain extent similarly balanced upon these ligaments on either side, which are attached to the heads of the thigh- bones, and then pass down to the lower edges of the cotyloid cavities. I b...

1851HyrtlJ

  The author expresses a classic view on the functions of the ligamentum capitis femoris (LCF): a conductor of blood vessels and a limiter of adduction of the femur. J. Hyrtl believed that it was impossible to completely dislocate the hip without tearing the LCF. Hyrtl J. Lehrbuch der Anatomie des Menschen, mit Rücksicht auf physiologische Begründung und praktische Anwendung. Wien: W. Braumüller, 1851. [fragment] Quote p. 265 In der Höhle des Gelenks liegt das runde Band des Schenkelkopfes (Lig. teres), welches an der Incisura acetabuli entspringt, und bei richtiger Neigung des Beckens, senkrecht zur Grube des Schenkelkopfes aufsteigt. Es beschränkt dieses Band die Zuziehung des Schenkels, und schreibt zugleich den durch die Incisura acetabuli eindringenden Blutgefässen den Weg vor, den sie zum Oberschenkelkopfe zu nehmen haben. Da das Band, wenn es in die Höhle des Gelenkes vorragen würde, durch Reibung viel zu leiden hätte, so...