1794(a)SommerringT

Fragments from the book Soemmerring ST. De Corporis Humani Fabrica. T.1. (1794). The author describes the attachment and role ligamentum capitis femoris (LCF). Cases of its absence are mentioned, in particular in osteoarthritis. We have added links to quotations about LCF available on our resource, as well as to publications posted on the Internet. There is a known version of the treatise in German: 1791SoemmerringST.

Quote p. 301

§. CCCCXXVIII.

…Cavum acetabuli hemisphaericum non ubique cartilagine obducitur, sed ad tertiam fere partem nudum conspicitur, ideoque pars, cartilaginoso tegmine obducta, lunatam figuram refert. Mediae huius regionis parti impressio aspera imponitur, quae ligamentum, quod caput ossis femoris devincit, excipit. Reliquam cavi acetabuli partem, cartilagine nudam, tenuem, non nihil planiorem pinguedo explet.

Quote p. 373

§. DXXXXIIII.

…Caput cartilagine obductum, hemisphaerio non nihil maius, ambitum undulatum habet, ita, ut in superiore et posteriore parte in angulum porrigatur, ideoque ambitui acetabuli respondeat. In media fere capitis parte, non nihil tamen inferiora et interiora versus, aspera, cartilaginoso tegmine nudata fovea, ligamentum teres excipiens, ponitur. Media hemisphaerii pars axin colli tangit.

Quote pp. 377-378

§. DLII.

Os femoris inter omnia artuum inferiorum ossa plurimis varietatibus subiectum videtur. Nonnumquam valde longum est, sed tenue; nonnumquam vero longum et plenum simul. Rarissime fovea ligamenti teretis abest. *)

*) GENGA Anatom. chir. Romae 1687. SALZMANN Decas Obs. anat. Arg. 1725. 4. recus. in HALLERI Diss. select. T. VI. p. 694. In femoribus arthritide tactis, non raro ligamentum teres, eiusque vestigium in osse perditur, ut saepius observavi. cfr. BLUMENBACH medicinische Bibliothek, 3 Band.

Translation

[Eng]

Quote p. 301

§. CCCCXXVIII.

... The cavity of the acetabulum has a hemispherical shape and is not covered with cartilage everywhere; about a third of it remains bare, so the part covered with cartilage has a crescent shape. In the central part of this area is a rough depression that receives the ligament that binds the head of the femur. The rest of the acetabulum cavity, not covered by cartilage, is filled with a thin layer of fat, which slightly smoothes the surface.

Quote p. 373

§. DXXXXIII.

... The head of the femur, covered with cartilage, is slightly larger than a hemisphere and has a wavy edge, so that in the upper and posterior parts it forms an angle that corresponds to the contour of the acetabulum. Almost in the center of the head, but somewhat lower and closer to the inside, there is a rough fossa, not covered with cartilage, to which the round ligament is attached. The central part of the hemisphere touches the axis of the femoral neck.

Quote pp. 377-378

§. DLII.

Of all the bones of the lower extremities, the femur is subject to the greatest number of variations. Sometimes it is very long, but thin; sometimes, on the contrary, it is long and thick at the same time. Very rarely the fossa for the round ligament is missing. *)

*) GENGA Anatom. chir. Romae 1687. SALZMANN Decas Obs. anat. Arg. 1725. 4. recus. in HALLERI Diss. select. T.VI. p. 694. In femurs affected by arthritis, the round ligament and its trace on the bone are often lost, as I have repeatedly observed. see also BLUMENBACH medicinische Bibliothek, 3 Band.

External links

Soemmerring ST. De Corporis Humani Fabrica. Tomus Primus, De Ossibus. Traiecti Ad Moenum: Sumtibus Varrentrappii Et Wenneri, 1794. [digitale-sammlungen.de]

Soemmerring ST. Vom Bau des menschlichen Körpers. Bd. 1. Knochenlehre. Frankfurt am Main: bey Varrentrapp und Wenner, 1791. [digitale-sammlungen.de]

Authors & Affiliations

Samuel Thomas Soemmerring (Ritter von Soemmerring, Sömmerring und Soemmering (1755-1830) was a German anatomist, anthropologist, paleontologist and inventor, professor at the University of Mainz and Kasseler Collegium Carolinum. [wikipedia.org]

Samuel Thomas Soemmerring (1813)
Artist: Wendelin Moosbrugger, original in the wikimedia.org collection
(CC0 – Public Domain, no changes)

Keywords

ligamentum capitis femoris, ligamentum teres, ligament of head of femur, anatomy, attachment, osteoarthritis, coxarthrosis, absence

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

Comments

LCF in 2025 (August)

LCF in 2025 ( August ) (Quotes from articles and books published in August 2025 mentioning the ligamentum capitis femoris) Castro, A., de Melo, C., & Leal, F. (2025). Complications in hip Arthroscopy: Recognizing and managing adverse events. Journal of Clinical Orthopaedics and Trauma , 103144. [i] journal-cot.com Negayama, T., Nishimura, H., Murata, Y., Nakayama, K., Takada, S., Nakashima, H., ... & Uchida, S. (2025). Factors associated with treatment failure after hip arthroscopic surgery for the patient with femoroacetabular impingement secondary to Legg-Calvé-Perthes disease. Journal of ISAKOS , 100937. [ii] jisakos.com Wegman, S. J., Shaikh, H., Brodell Jr, J. D., Cook, P. C., & Giordano, B. D. (2025). Femoral head osteochondral allograft transplantation with and without simultaneous periacetabular osteotomy: a case series. Journal of Hip Preservation Surgery , hnaf037. [iii] ...

1969DeeR

Content [i] Annotation [ii] Original text [iii] Illustrations [iv] Source & links [v] Notes [vi] Authors & Affiliations [vii] Keywords [i] Annotation Article : Dee R. Structure and function of hip joint innervation (1969). The author discusses the nervous system of the ligamentum capitis femoris (LCF) and its role in hip biomechanics. The text in Russian is available at the following link: 1969DeeR . [ii] Original text STRUCTURE AND FUNCTION OF HIP JOINT INNERVATION Arnott Demonstration delivered at the Royal College of Surgeons of England on 4th February 1969 by Roger Dee , M.A., F.R.C.S. Neurologcal Laboratory, Royal College of Surgeons of England, and Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Middlesex Hospital, London In 1885 JAMES ARNOTT, surgeon to the Middlesex Hospital and one of the founders of its Medical School, endowed a series of lectures to be given at the Royal College of Surge...

1679DiemerbroeckI

Fragments from the book Diemerbroeck I. Anatome corporis humani (1679). The author describes the pathology variants, function, topography and attachment of the ligamentum capitis femoris (LCF). The damage to the LCF in hip dislocation, symptoms and treatment are discussed. The text is similar to a paraphrase of Hegetor's work «On Causes» and Galen of Pergamon's commentary on Hippocrates' treatise «On Joints» ( 1745CocchiA ; 2020ArkhipovSV_ProlyginaIV ). Isbrand van Diemerbroeck uses many synonyms for LCF: nervus cartilaginosus, terete, teres, rotundum ligamentum, interius ligamentum. Quote p. 593. [Lat] CAPUT XIX. De Ossibus Femoris, & Cruris. Superius procesum crassum, versus coxendicis os prominentem, eique epiphyin rotundam & amplam impositam habet, sicque globosum femoris caput, valida cervice subnixum, constituit, quod cartilagine obductum in coxendicis acetabulum reconditur, in eoque duobus validis ligamentis detinetur: uno lato, crasso, & membranoso, ...

1844CruveilhierJ

Fragments from the book Cruveilhier J. The Anatomy of the Human Body (1844). The author discusses the anatomy and role of the ligamentum capitis femoris (LCF). Quote p. 94 The head (i, figs. 49 and 50) is the most regularly spheroidal of all the eminences in the skeleton, and forms nearly two thirds of a sphere. In the middle of it we observe a rough depression (k) of variable dimensions, which gives attachment to the round ligament. Quote pp. 159-162 COXO-FEMORAL ARTICULATION (fig. 76). Preparation. Remove with care all the muscles that surround the joint, preserving the reflected tendon of the rectus femoris. The psoas and iliacus muscles, the synovial capsule of which so often communicates with the articular synovial membrane, must be removed with particular care. After the fibrous capsule has been studied upon its external surface, a circular division should be made round its middle portion, for the purpose of uncovering the deep-situated parts. This articulation is the ...

1900BetheE

Fragments of t he book Pollux J. Onomasticum (166-76) edited by E. Bethe (1900). In Greek the author calls ligamentum capitis femoris (LCF) «ἰσχίον», and the concept of «ligament» is designated by the term «νεῦρον / ν εῦρα ». The term «ἰσχίον» was used by Rufus of Ephesus ( 2020ArkhipovSV_ProlyginaIV ). The fragment of the Onomasticum dealing with the LCF was quoted by Giovanni Filippo Ingrassia ( 1603IngrassiaeIP ) . See our commentary at the link: 1900 BetheE [Rus]. Quote 1. Βιβλίου Β. 186-187 [Grc] καιλεῖται δὲ καὶ τὸ νεῦρον τὸ σ υνέχον τὴν κοτύλην πρὸ σ τὸν μηρὸν ἰ σ χίον. ὁμώνυμον δ’ ἐ σ τιν αύτῷ καὶ τὸ ἄρθρον. καὶ τὸ μὲν [τῇ] κοτύλῃ [ σ υνηρμο σ μένον] ὀ σ τοῦν σ τρογγύλον μηροῦ κεφαλὴ, μηρὸ σ δὲ τὸ ἁπ ὸ το ύ το υ μὲχρ ι γονάτων μὲρο σ , … (original source: 1900BetheE , pp. 140-141 ) Quote 2. Βιβλίου Β. 234 [Grc] Νεῦρα δ’ ἐστι σύνδεσμος ὀστῶν εἴκων τε καὶ τεινόμενος, ἀφ ̓ ὧν κ...

1914JonesFW_MorrisH

We are publishing a chapter from the fifth edition of «Morris's Human Anatomy» (1914). A significant portion of it is dedicated to the ligamentum capitis femoris (LCF). The original text has been edited by Wood Jones. Particularly notable are the illustrations depicting the LCF. Some of them are improved drawings by the first author ( 1879MorrisH ). Quote pp. 276-284 1. THE HIP-JOINT Class. — Diarthrosis. Subdivision. — Enarthrodia. The hip is the most typical example of a ball-and-socket joint in the body, the round head of the femur being received into the cup-shaped cavity of the acetabulum. Both articular surfaces are coated with cartilage, that covering the head of the femur being thicker above where it has to bear the weight of the body, and thinning out to a mere edge below; the pit for the ligamentum teres is the only part uncoated, but the cartilage is somewhat heaped up around its margin. Covering the acetabulum, the cartilage is horseshoe-shaped, a...

1976CrelinES

Content [i] Annotation [ii] Original text [iii] Illustrations [iv] Source & links [v] Notes [vi] Authors & Affiliations [vii] Keywords [i] Annotation Article : Crelin ES. An experimental study of hip stability in human newborn cadavers (1976). The author described an experimental study of the role of ligamentum capitis femoris (LCF) in stabilizing the hip joint and its significance for the occurrence of congenital hip dislocation. The text in Russian is available at the following link: 1976CrelinES . [ii] Original text (in German) An Experimental Study of Hip Stability in Human Newborn Cadavers E. S. Crelin Sections of Gross Anatomy and Orthopaedic Surgery, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut 06510 Received August 21, 1975 The less frequent variety of hip dislocation occurs before birth and may be associated with neuromuscular disorders such as arthrogr...

BIOMECHANICS AND MORPHOMECHANICS

BIOMECHANICS AND MORPHOMECHANICS (On the rela tionship between the mechanics and morphology of the hip joint... ) 1586PiccolominiA One of the first discussions of the biomechanics of the LCF with a description of its shape, mechanical properties and attachment. 1728 WaltherAF The selected excerpt discusses the anatomy, mechanical properties and function of the LCF. 1836WeberW_WeberE Fragments from the book that laid the foundation of biomechanics of the hip joint considering th e LCF. 1836-1840PartridgeR The author compared the LCF, in its function to a leathern straps by which the body of a carriage is suspended on springs . 1856MeyerGH The author of the modern theory of bio mechanics of the hip joint discusses the significant role of the LCF during walking and maintaining an upright posture. 1857TurnerW The fragment of the «Human Anatomy and Physiology» narrates the involvement of the LCF in distri...

1869BirkettJ

Content [i] Annotation [ii] Original text [iii] Illustrations [iv] Source & links [v] Notes [vi] Authors & Affiliations [vii] Keywords [i] Annotation The article: Birkett J. Description of a Dislocation of the Head of the Femur, complicated with its Fracture; with Remarks (1869). The author described the damage to the ligamentum capitis femoris (LCF) and its strength when observing a fracture-dislocation of the femoral head. The text in Russian is available at the following link: 1869BirkettJ . [ii] Original text DESCRIPTION OF A DISLOCATION OF THE HEAD OF THE FEMUR, COMPLICATED WITH ITS FRACTURE; WITH REMARKS. BY JOHN BIRKETT, F.R.C.S., SURGEON TO GUY'S HOSPITAL. Received Jan. 12th. - Read Feb. 23rd, 1869. A WOMAN, et. 35, of rather short stature, was brought into Guy's Hospital on account of the following injuries, the infliction of which she survived a few minutes only...

1012-1024Avicenna

Fragment from the book Avicenna. Canon of Medicine (1012-1024). The author writes about the localization and variant of the pathology ligamentum capitis femoris (LCF), leading to hip dislocation. See our commentary at the link: 1012-1024Avicenna [Rus]. Quote. [Lat] Canon Medicinae . Lib. III. De doloribus iunctura… L. V. (original source: 1476Avicenna, p. 191, fragment) Quote . [ Rus ] Канон врачебной науки. Книга 3. Том 2. Часть 22. Заболевания внешних и конечных органов. Статья 2. Боли в этих органах, §3. Боли в суставах и то, что является общим для подагры, воспаления седалищного нерва и тому подобного (332a). Материя при воспалении седалищного нерва чаще всего пребывает в суставе и просачивается из него в широкий нерв; когда [нерв] испытывает боль, это предрасполагает его к [приему других] соков, изливающихся к нему сверху из всего тела, кроме тех, которые были заперты вначале. А бывает и так, что материя [первоначально] находится не в суставе, а в широком нер...

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