This specimen represents a female right pelvis, sectioned along the midsagittal plane and transversely across the level of the L4 vertebrae superiorly and the proximal thigh inferiorly. The specimen has been dissected to demonstrate the deep structures of the true and false pelves, the inferior anterior abdominal wall and inguinal region, femoral triangle and gluteal region.
Internal anatomy: The muscular boundaries of the inferior abdominal cavity are defined posterolaterally by the quadratus lumborum, iliacus and psoas muscles; anteriorly by the (varyingly exposed) external and internal abdominal oblique muscles, the transversus abdominis and rectus abdominis. Inferiorly in the pelvic cavity the obturator internus is visible traversing through the lesser sciatic foramen inferior to the sacrospinous ligament.
Fibres of coccygeus merge with those of the sacrospinous ligament. Piriformis is visible both at its origin within the cavity and partly in the gluteal region. The common iliac artery arises from its cut edge at the level of L5, bifurcating at the level of the sacral promontory into the external and internal iliac arteries. The external iliac artery skirts along the margin of the pelvic brim to give off the deep circumflex iliac artery and inferior epigastric artery before passing deep to the inguinal ligament.
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