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1603IngrassiaeIP


Fragments from the book Ingrassiae IP. In Galeni librum de ossibus doctissima et expectatissima commentaria… (1603). The author writes about the topography of ligamentum capitis femoris (LCF), its geometric and mechanical properties. The original text contains Greek inserts and references to pictures (pp. 241-242). In the first quotation, Giovanni Ingrassia gives an excerpt about LCF from the work of the scientist Julius Pollux (II cent.) Onomasticum. Lib. II. Cap. IV, 186. (1706PolluxI). Below is a statement by Galen of Pergamon from the treatise De Ossibus ad Tirones (Περὶ Ὀστῶν τοῖς Εἰσαγομένοις). This saying about LCF is known in Greek and Latin: «κοτύλη δέ εστιν εν εκατέρω των ισχίων ευμεγέθης, ισχυροτά»; «Acetabulum autem utrique inest coxendici praegrande, quod robustissimo ligamento cum femoris capite conjunctum est.» (1821KühnCG). A translation into English is available in our work: «There is a socket of large size in each of the ischia, attached by a very stout ligament (σύνδεσμος) to the head of the femur.» (2020ArkhipovSV_ProlyginaIV).

Quote 1.

[Lat]

p. 242

CAPVT NVDEVIGESIMVM.

COMMENTVM PRIMVM.

… Nec alia, quam firmationis ac validissimæ substentationis etiam, ratione [ischion] dicitur etiam neruosum illud ligamentum, quod validissimè femoris tubercolum cum acetábulo conectit. Vnde Pollux idein inquit. z. [… , ischion] hoc est [Vocatur autem coxendix neruus etiam ille, qui acetabulum ad femur colligans est] De vtroq; autem ligamēto quanuis intelligi possit nonnulliq; de primo .[a]. potiùs acceperint: Nos tamen de secondo .[b]. magis scilicet terete intelligimus. Vnde & ipse quoq articulus eiusdem coxendix dicitur, Gręcè [ischion]. Vt statim subdit, dicens […] hoc est [Eiusdem verò nominis est ipse etiam articulus] Eadem igitur nomenclandi ratione multa significat dictio [ischion]. Quocircà Homerus pro ipso acetabulo (quod magis inferioris, secundæue predictæ ossis partis est) assumpsisse videtur: quum sic videlicet Iliados quinto ait [.a.] […] quod est [Hoc (scilicet magno lapide Diomedes, Æneæ) coxendicem percussit: vbi femur coxendici inuortitur, acetabulum verò nuncupant. Confregit autem sibi acetabulum, duosq; ad vtrunque (soilicet acetabulum, ac femur) abrupit tendons] tendones vocauit ipsa ligamenta, quæ talem articulum connectentia dưo sunt: alterum [.y.] scilicet orbiculatim articulum ipsum vndiq;, aliorum articulorum instar, amplectens: quanquá illis quidein similibus omnibus robustius existens. Alterum verò [.b.] huic pecultate est (de quo sequens disseree textus) teres, chartilagineumq; ac sua duritie validissimum, a medio femoris capite nasoens, & in acetabuti humillimam sedem in insertum. In predictis igitur vérbis Homerus vel duntaxat acetabulum, [ischio] nomine, intellexit; vel totum id secundu os, quod a parte acetabulu quoq; nuncupari voluit. Sed hæc ad gramaticos. Omissis igitur alijs huius hominis significationibus, eiusdemq; rationibus, ad Galenum couertamur, de predicta iam femoris ad acetabulum per teres illud, validumq; peculiar ligainentum facta connexione loquentem, his verbis.

TEXTVS SECVNDVS.

Acetabulu verò vtriq; coxendici magnu validissimo ligamēto cõnatum cu femoris capite est.

COMMENTVM SECVNDVM.

Sive pro toto osse, siue pro secuda eiusdem parte [ischion] hic sumpserimus verus, Galeni sermo est, q scilicet in vtroq; latere ischion, siue coxendix acetabulu habet: in quod quidem femoris caput inseritur, perq; validissimu ligamentu illi annectitur. Cumq; ligamentu illud vtriq; ossa adnatu sit: veluti & aliud quoq; [.p.] in orbem articulum coplectens vtriq; ossi tam scilicet coxēdici, quam femori comune est. Ideò per symphysim coalescere, atq; vniri, proferri possunt. Licet non per se, siue per immediatam: sed (vt anteà [.b.] iam dictum est) per synneurosin: ideoq; per mediatam sine per accides factam symphysim: quia per aliud, puta per intermedium ligamentum: quod neruus etiam nuncupatur (vt ostendimus .c.) Haud enim absurdum est, eadem per symphysin, ac per hoc propter quietem: & per articulum, ac per hoc propter motu, diuersis rationibus copulari (prout antea quoq; demonstrauimus .d.) Mirandum igitur hic minimè est, siquidem Galenus […], hoc est, connatum, siue coalescens esse ipsum acetabulū cum femoris capite inquit. Id quod tametsi per vtrunq; ligamentum verum sit: Nihilominus tamen de proprio, specialiq; ligamento intelleximus: cum primum illud omnibus comune sit, vt de eo meninisse hic pene superfluu dici potuerit. …

Quote 2.

[Lat]

p. 245

CAPVT VNDEVIGESIMVM.

COMMENTVM SECVNDVM.

… Id enim corporis omnium ad dearticulationem dicatorum, siue sinuum, siue acetabulorum maximum, profundissimumq; est. Circa quod quatuor perpendenda occurrunt. Primum q in inferiore ipsius sede antorsum magis, ab acetabuli fundo deorsùm asperitas quædam est, supra quide maior, infrà verò minor multis cęcis foraminulis oppleta. Vnde teres illud primu ligamentu (de quo pręsens Galeni sermo est) exoritur, quod in femoris caput inseritur. Reliquæ verò eiusde acetabuli partes læui, lubricaq; chartilagine, ob dearticulationis motus facilitatem, incrustatę sunt. …

Quote 3.

[Lat]

p. 249

CAPVT VIGESIMVM.

COMMENTVM SECVNDVM.

… Ob eam igitur causam humeri articulus non modò, quam ischij suit laxior, musculiq; ipsum imbecilliores, ac ligamenta tenuiora continent: verùm etiam cauitatem quidem superficiariā, ischij verò profundam est adeptus: ligamentum prętereà teres, & idem fortissimú, ex femoris capiţe medio ipsi acetabulo conexum in coxendicis, ischijue articulo ob eandem causam natura effecit. …

Translation

[Eng]

Quote 1.

p. 242

CHAPTER NINETEEN.

FIRST COMMENT.

 ... And this strong and very strong support is called ischion, and also a rigid ligament, it firmly connects the tubercle of the femur to the acetabulum. Therefore, Pollux says: also [ischion] called the ligament that connects the acetabulum to the femur. Both connectives are meant, but some rather mean the first. We understand the second, more rounded ligament. Therefore, the joint itself is also called by the same term, in Greek ischion. As he immediately adds, saying that this is the same object with the same name, therefore the word ischion means many things. Homer seems to have used this name for the acetabulum itself (which is in the lower part of the said bone), when in the fifth book of the Iliad he says: [...] which means: That great stone with which Diomedes struck of Aeneas struck the thigh there, where the femur connects to the acetabulum, fractured the acetabulum and tore the two ligaments that connect it to the femur. He called the ligaments tendons that connect such a joint: one covers the joint on all sides, like other joints, although it is much stronger than all the others. The other one is special to this joint (as discussed later in the text), round, cartilaginous and very strong, coming from the middle of the head of the femur and attaching to the lower part of the acetabulum. Consequently, Homer in these words either meant only the acetabulum called ischion, or the entire lower part of the bone, which he also wanted to call part of the acetabulum. But we'll leave that to the grammarians. Leaving aside other meanings and reasons for the use of this term, let us turn to Galen, who spoke of the attachment of the femur to the acetabulum by means of this strong, special round ligament, in the following words:

SECOND TEXT.

Each acetabulum of the hip joint is connected to the head of the femur by a large and very strong ligament.

SECOND COMMENT.

If we accept the term ischion to designate the whole bone or part of it, Galen's words will be correct, since on each side of the ischion, or pelvic bone, there is an acetabulum, into which the head of the femur is inserted, and which is connected to it by a very strong ligament. Since this ligament connects both bones, as well as another ligament that surrounds the joint in a circle, is common to both bones, both the pelvic and the femur, it can be argued that they grow together and connect through the symphysis. Although this is not a direct connection, but, as already mentioned, through synneurosin [syndesmosis?] - an indirect connection or through an unintentional symphysis, since it occurs through another, intermediate ligament, also called neruus. This is not absurd, since they are connected through the symphysis for rest and through the joint for movement, for different reasons (as we have shown before). It is therefore not surprising that Galen said that the acetabulum and the head of the femur are connected. Although this is true of both connectives, we mean here a specific and unique connective, since the first connective is common to all, and mention of it here might be unnecessary.

Quote 2.

p. 245

CHAPTER NINETEEN.

FIRST COMMENT.

... This is the largest and deepest recess of all the joints, called sinuses or acetabulum. There are four important aspects around it. Firstly, in its lower part, closer to the anterior side, at the bottom of the acetabulum below, there is some roughness, more pronounced at the top and less pronounced at the bottom, with many small holes. It is here that the first round ligament arises (which Galen talks about in this fragment), which is inserted into the head of the femur. The remaining parts of the acetabulum are covered with smooth and slippery cartilage to facilitate movement of the joint. ...

Quote 3.

p. 249

CHAPTER TWENTY.

SECOND COMMENT.

... For this reason, the shoulder joint is not only more mobile than the hip joint, the muscles around it are weaker and the ligaments are thinner, but also its socket is more superficial, while that of the hip is deep. In addition, a round and very strong ligament connecting the middle of the head of the femur with the acetabulum exists in the hip joint for the same reason. ...




External links

Ingrassiae IP. In Galeni librum de ossibus doctissima et expectatissima commentaria, nunc primum sedulo in lucem edita, ... quibus appositus est graecus galeni ... Panormi: ex Typographia Io. Baptistae Maringhi, MDCIII [1603]. [books.google , archive.org]

Pollux J. Iuliu Polydeukus Onomasticum Graece & Latine. Post egregiam illam Wolfgangi Seberi editionem…. Amstelaedami, Ex Officina Wetsteniana, 1706. [books.google]

Kühn CG. Clavdii Galeni Opera omnia. Editionem cvravit D. Carolvs Gottlob Kühn, professor physiologiae et pathologiae in literarvm vniversitate Lipsiensi pvblicvs ordinarivs etc. Tom. II. Lipsiae: prostat in officina libraria Car. Cnoblochii, 1821. [archive.org]

Arkhipov SV, Prolygina IV. Ancient Textual Sources on Ligamentum Teres: Context and Transmission. MLTJ. 2020;10(3):536-546. doi:10.32098/mltj.03.2020.27 [mltj.online , mltj.online(PDF) , researchgate.net]

Authors & Affiliations

Giovanni Filippo Ingrassia (Ioannis Philippi Ingrassiae, 1510-1580) was an Italian physician, anatomist, professor at the University of Naples. [wikipedia.org]

Galen of Pergamon (Γαληνός, Galenus, II-III cent.) was a physician, surgeon and philosopher. [wikipedia.org]

Giovanni Filippo Ingrassia 
Unknown author, engraving from book Spedalieri A. Elogio storico di Giovanni Filippo Ingrassia. Milano: Imperiale Regia Stamperia, 1817. [archive.org] (CC0 – Public Domain, no changes)

Keywords

ligamentum capitis femoris, ligamentum teres, ligament of head of femur, anatomy, attachment, synonyms, properties

                                                                                                                  

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


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MORPHOLOGY AND TOPOGRAPHY

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