Greater sciatic notch
| Greater sciatic notch | |
|---|---|
.png) Surface of the hip showing the greater sciatic notch in red. | |
| Details | |
| Identifiers | |
| Latin | Incisura ischiadica major |
| TA | A02.5.01.009 |
| FMA | 16902 |
The greater sciatic notch is a notch in the ilium, one of the bones that make up the human pelvis. It lies between the posterior inferior iliac spine (above), and the ischial spine (below). The sacrospinous ligament changes this notch into an opening, the greater sciatic foramen.
The notch holds the piriformis, the superior gluteal vein and artery, and the superior gluteal nerve; the inferior gluteal vein and artery and the inferior gluteal nerve; the sciatic and posterior femoral cutaneous nerves; the internal pudendal artery and veins, and the nerves to the internal obturator and quadratus femoris muscles.
Of these, the superior gluteal vessels and nerve pass out above the piriformis, and the other structures below it.
The greater sciatic notch is wider in women than in men.
References
This article incorporates text in the public domain from the 20th edition of Gray's Anatomy (1918)
External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Greater sciatic notch. |
- Anatomy photo:42:os-0110 at the SUNY Downstate Medical Center - The Male Perineum and the Penis: Osteology"
- Anatomy photo:44:st-0708 at the SUNY Downstate Medical Center - "The Male Pelvis: Hip Bone"