1742WesleyC

Works of art that mention ligamentum capitis femoris (LCF) are extremely rare. One such work is the poem «Wrestling Jacob» (Come, O Thou Traveler Unknown) by Charles Wesley.

Wrestling Jacob

1. Come, O Thou Traveler unknown,
Whom still I hold, but cannot see;
My Company before is gone,
And I am left alone with Thee.
With Thee all night I mean to stay
And wrestle till the Break of Day.

2. I need not tell Thee who I am,
My Misery, or Sin, declare;
Thyself hast call’d me by my Name,
Look on Thy Hand and read it there.
But who, I ask Thee, who art Thou?
Tell me Thy Name, and tell me now!

3. In vain Thou strugglest to get free,
I never will unloose my Hold;
Art Thou the Man that died for me?
The secret of Thy Love unfold;
Wrestling I will not let Thee go,
Till I Thy Name, Thy Nature know.

4. Wilt Thou not yet to me reveal
Thy new, unutterable Name?
Tell me, I still beseech Thee, tell,
To know it Now resolv’d I am;
Wrestling I will not let Thee go,
Till I Thy Name, Thy Nature know.

5. ’Tis all in vain to hold Thy Tongue,
Or touch the Hollow of my Thigh;
Though every Sinew be unstrung,
Out of my Arms Thou shalt not fly.
Wrestling I will not let Thee go,
Till I Thy Name, Thy Nature know.

6. What tho’ my shrinking Flesh complain,
And murmur to contend so long,
I rise superior to my Pain;
When I am weak then I am strong.
And when my All of Strength shall fail,
I shall with the God-man prevail.

7. My Strength is gone, my Nature dies,
I sink beneath Thy weighty Hand,
Faint to revive, and fall to rise;
I fall, and yet by Faith I stand,
I stand, and will not let Thee go,
Till I Thy Name, Thy Nature know.

8. Yield to me Now—for I am weak;
But confident in Self-despair:
Speak to my Heart, in Blessing speak,
Be conquer’d by my Instant Prayer;
Speak, or Thou never hence shalt move,
And tell me if Thy Name is Love.

9. ’Tis Love, ’tis Love! Thou diedst for Me,
I hear Thy Whisper in my Heart.
The Morning breaks, the Shadows flee:
Pure Universal Love Thou art;
To me, to All Thy Bowels move,
Thy Nature, and Thy Name is Love.

10. My Prayer hath Power with God; the Grace
Unspeakable I now receive,
Thro’ Faith I see Thee Face to Face,
I see Thee Face to Face, and live;
In vain I have not wept, and strove,
Thy Nature, and Thy Name is Love.

11. I know Thee, Savior, who Thou art,
Jesus, the feeble sinner’s Friend;
Nor wilt Thou with the Night depart,
But stay, and love me to the End;
Thy Mercies never shall remove,
Thy Nature, and Thy Name is Love.

12. The Sun of Righteousness on Me
Hath rise with Healing in his Wings,
Wither’d my Nature’s Strength; from Thee
My Soul its Life and Succor brings,
My Help is all laid up above;
Thy Nature and Thy Name is Love.

13. Contented now upon my Thigh
I halt, till Life’s short journey end;
All Helplessness, all Weakness I,
On Thee alone for Strength depend,
Nor have I Power from Thee to move;
Thy Nature, and Thy Name is Love.

14. Lame as I am, I take the Prey,
Hell, Earth, and Sin with Ease o’ercome;
I leap for Joy, pursue my Way,
And as a bounding Hart fly home,
Through all Eternity to prove
Thy Nature and Thy Name is Love.

(1742WesleyJ_WesleyC;115-118)

External links

Wesley J, Wesley C. Hymns and Sacred Poems. Bristol: Felix Farley, 1742. archive.org

Authors & Affiliations

Charles Wesley (1707-1788), was an English Anglican cleric, hymnwriter. wikipedia.org

Charles Wesley
Portrait by John Russell & Magnus Manske;
original in the wikimedia.org collection (CC0 – Public Domain, no changes).

Commentary

The poem is written based on the verses of the 32nd chapter of the Book of Genesis (32:24-33).

24 And he took them, and sent them over the stream, and sent over what he had.

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.

27 And he said, Let me go, for the day hath dawned. And he said, I will not let thee go until thou hast blessed me.

28 And he said unto him. What is thy name ? and he said, Jacob.

29 And he said, Not Jacob shall any more be called thy name, but Israel ; for as a prince hast thou power with God and with men, and hast prevailed.

30 And Jacob asked him, and said. Tell me, I pray thee, thy name. And he said, Wherefore is it that thou dost ask after my name ? And he blessed him there.

31 And Jacob called the name of the place Peniёl : for I have seen an angel of God face to face, and my life hath been preserved.

32 And the sun rose unto him as he passed by Penuёl, and he halted upon his thigh.

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. (from 1922LeeserI)

Leeser I. The twenty-four books of the Holy Scriptures. Carefully translated according to the Massoretic text, on the basis of the English version after the best Jewish authorities and supplied with short explanatory notes by Isaac Leeser. New York: Bloch Pub. Co., 1922. [archive.org]

Keywords

ligamentum capitis femoris, ligamentum teres, ligament of head of femur, mention, Bible, poetry, damage, injury

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BLOG CONTENT

Imaginative Literature

18th Century

Comments

1902RilkeRM

Works of art that mention ligamentum capitis femoris (LCF) are extremely rare. One such work is the poem «Der Schauende» ( He Who Visions, The Seer, The Man Watching, The Beholder) b y Rainer Rilke. Below is the original text in German. Der Schauende 1. Ich sehe den Bäumen die Stürme an, die aus laugewordenen Tagen an meine ängstlichen Fenster schlagen, und höre die Fernen Dinge sagen, die ich nicht ohne Freund ertragen, nicht ohne Schwester lieben kann. 2. Da geht der Sturm, ein Umgestalter, geht durch den Wald und durch die Zeit, und alles ist wie ohne Alter: die Landschaft, wie ein Vers im Psalter, ist Ernst und Wucht und Ewigkeit. 3. Wie ist das klein, womit wir ringen, was mit uns ringt, wie ist das groß; ließen wir, ähnlicher den Dingen, uns so vom großen Sturm bezwingen, - wir würden weit und namenlos. 4. Was wir besiegen, ist das Kleine, und der Erfolg selbst macht uns klein. Das Ewige und Ungemeine will nicht von uns gebogen sein. Das ist der Enge...

1730CheseldenW

Fragments from the book Cheselden W. The Anatomy of the Human Body (1730). The author draws attention to the role of ligamentum capitis femoris (LCF) in counteracting hip dislocation and maintaining the femoral head in the joint. The work notes that the LCF is “powerful” and “short” - “about two inches” i.e. approximately 5 cm! This error will be corrected in a subsequent treatise ( 1733CheseldenW ) . Quote pp. 43 - 44 Chap. VII. Of the Ligaments At the upper part of the articulation of the Os Femoris and Os Innominatum, is a strong ligament of great consequence; it contributing very much to preserve that joint from being luxated by the weight of the body. And from the lower edge of the Acetabulum of the Os Innominatum, runs a ligament to the middle of the head of the Os Femoris, about two inches long (which the Motion in this joint requires) called Teres, or Rotundum, whose use is to prevent the Os Femoris from being luxated upwards, but down wards it will le...

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., ...

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...

1626BartholinC

Fragment from the book Bartholin C. Anatomicae Institutiones Corporis Humani (1626). The author describes the anatomy, topography, geometric and mechanical properties of the ligamentum capitis femoris (LCF). The term «terete» (rounded) is used to indicate its geometry. The term «cartilagine» (cartilaginous) is used to describe the hardness of the LCF, and the analogy of «nervus esset cartilaginosus» (like a cartilaginous sinew) is given. Similar terminological elements are present in the works of Galen of Pergamon and Theophilus Protospatharius ( 2020ArkhipovSV_ProlyginaIV ). See the previous edition at the link: 1611BartholinC Quote p. 409 [Lat] Cap. XXI. DE OSSIBUS TOTIUS PEDIS. … I. Est caput maximum & rotundum, ex appendice factum, quod in coxendicis acetabulum inseritur, & duplici ligamento cum coxendice nectitur: uno communi, lato, membraneo, sed satis crasso, orbiculatum articulum ambiente; altero terete, quasi cartilagine (ac si nervus esset cart...

1905BardeenCR

An excerpt from the article by Bardeen CR. Studies of the development of the human skeleton (1905). The author briefly discusses the emergence of the ligamentum capitis femoris (LCF). Quote p. 287 The hip-joint is represented at first by a dense mass of scleroblastema, Fig. 55. The development of the acetabulum by ingrowth and fusion of processes from the iliac, ischial and pubic cartilages has already been described. The cartilagenous joint-cavity is at first quite shallow, Fig. 56. But extension of cartilage into the blastemal tissue which passes from the pelvis over the head of the femur serves greatly to deepen it on all sides except in the region of the cotyloid notch. The joint-cavity is at first completely filled with a dense blastemat tissue, Fig. 56. While the embryo is growing from 20 to 30 mm. in length cavity formation begins in the tissue lying between the cartilagenous floor of the acetabulum and the head of the femur. The first stage in the process is marked by a c...

1720RuyschF

The author draws attention to the well-developed blood supply of the acetabular fossa, as well as the ligamentum capitis femoris (LCF). In the work, it is referred to as the «ligamentum nerveo-cartilagineum», which literally means the tough cartilaginous ligament and implies its strength. With the difficulty of accessing the acetabular fossa, and therefore the LCF, Frederik Ruysch associates the inefficiency of treating hip joint pain. The writer presumably implies osteoarthritis. In our opinion, its development is initiated by the pathology of the LCF ( 2012АрхиповСВ ). The discussed work includes a black and white drawing of the LCF of a child, made by the illustrator Jan Wandelaar. In color, the same preparation, but from a different angle, was depicted by the artist Jan l'Admiral in a separate publication ( 1738LadmiralJ ). Ruysch F. Adversarium anatomico-medico-chirurgicorum decas secunda. In quâ varia notatu digna recensentur. Cum figuris aeneis. Amsterdami: a...

Human Children. Retelling of Chapter 14

Short retelling of chapter 14 of the essay: Arkhipov S.V. Human Children: The Origins of Biblical Legends from a Physician's Perspective. Joensuu: Author's Edition, 2025. [In Russian] Chapter 14. ESAU AND JACOB At 40, Isaac marries Rebekah, his cousin’s daughter. Their marriage is long childless until Rebekah conceives twins, detected prenatally, possibly by her large belly or palpation. Genesis states that at 60, Isaac fathers the twins, born naturally after 20 years of marriage. The first, Esau, emerges “red, all hairy like a cloak,” followed by Jacob, unremarkable but grasping Esau’s heel. Over time, their differences deepen: Esau, a skilled hunter, roams fields; Jacob, gentle, stays in tents. Famine forces the family from “Beer-Lahai-Roi” in the Negev to “Gerar’s Philistine king,” then to “Gerar’s valley,” and finally to Beersheba. At 40, Jacob, urged by Rebekah, deceives blind Isaac to steal Esau’s inheritance, sparking enmity. Rebekah advises Jacob to flee to rela...

Human Children. Retelling of Chapter 1

Short retelling of chapter 1 of the essay: Arkhipov S.V. Human Children: The Origins of Biblical Legends from a Physician's Perspective. Joensuu: Author's Edition, 2025. [In Russian] Chapter 1. THE BEGINNING OF THE WORLD The Bible stands as a remarkable testament to religious and philosophical thought, passed down through the ages with minimal alterations. At its core lies a collection of texts rooted in the sacred writings of Jewish and Samaritan traditions, known as the Torah, meaning "Law" or "Teaching." In its narrowest sense, the Torah comprises the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, collectively called the Tanakh—an acronym derived from the Hebrew terms for "Law/Teaching" (Torah), "Prophets" (Nevi’im), and "Writings" (Ketuvim). Beyond this Written Torah, there exists an Oral Torah, which includes the Mishnah, Talmud, and Midrash, offering interpretations and expansions of the written texts. The Written Torah it...

1877MorrisH

An excerpt from the article by Morris H. Dislocations of the Thigh: their mode of occurrence as indicated by experiments, and the Anatomy of the Hip-joint (1877, pp. 161-170). The author noted that the ligamentum capitis femoris (LCF) is stretched during flexion, adduction, and external rotation. It was found that the LCF is always damaged in hip dislocations, is more often torn from the femur, and is rarely ruptured. Discussion of article see article 1877BrookeC . DISLOCATIONS OF THE THIGH: THEIR MODE OF OCCURRENCE AS INDICATED BY EXPERIMENTS AND THE ANATOMY OF THE HIP-JOINT. BY HENRY MORRIS, M.A., M.B., F.R.C.S., ASSISTANT SURGEON TO, AND LECTURER ON ANATOY1 AT, THE MIDDLESEX HOSPITAL. Received January 9th-Read February 13th, 1877. RECENTLY, whilst making various dissections of the hip-joint, the usually accepted doctrine that dorsal and ischiatic dislocations of the femur occur when the thigh is in a position of adduction appeared to me as very improbable, on anatomi...

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