The ball-and-socket joint between the head of the femur and the acetabular fossa.
The place where the hip is joined to the upper leg.
Ball-and-socket joint m which the head of the femur (thigh bone) fits into the acetabulum of the innominate bone of the pelvis. The joint involves several ligaments and permits extensive motion. Also called coxa joint.
The joint formed by the head of the thigh bone and the deep, cup-shaped hollow on the side of the pelvis which receives it (acetabulum). The joint is of the ball-and-socket variety, is dislocated only by very great violence, and is correspondingly difficult to reduce to its natural state after dislocation. The joint is enclosed by a capsule of fibrous tissue, strengthened by several bands, of which the principal is the iliofemoral or Y-shaped ligament placed in front of the joint. A round ligament also unites the head of the thigh bone to the margin of the acetabulum.
A synovial ball-and-socket joint in which the head of the femur fits into the acetabulum of the hip bone. More than seven separate ligaments hold the joint together and restrict its movements.