between the male and female
The female pelvis ....
• The bones are more delicate – thin and light
• The pelvis is less massive
• The pelvis is more shallow
• The ilia are less sloped
• The anterior iliac spines are more widely separated – thus the greater prominence of the hips laterally
• The superior aperture of the lesser pelvis (pelvic inlet) is larger, more nearly circular and has greater obliquity
• The cavity of the pelvis is shallower and wider
• Sacrum is shorter, wider and the upper part is less curved, so the sacral
promontory is less imposing into the pelvic cavity
• The obturator foramina are triangular – oval in shape and smaller in size than
the male circular foramina
• The inferior aperture of the lesser pelvis (pelvic outlet) is larger and the
coccyx is more moveable
• The sciatic notches are wider and shallower
• The spines of the ischia project less inward – hence not protruding as much
into the pelvic cavity
• The acetabula are smaller and look more distinctly forward
• The superior pubic ramus is longer than the width of the acetabulum
• Ischial tuberosities and the acetabula are more wider apart
• The pubic symphysis is less deep
• The muscle attachments are more poorly marked
• The pubic arch is wider an more rounded than in the male where it is an angle
rather than an arch. (~ 90o c.f ~ 60o)
All required to get our big fat heads through nice and safely. Mother Nature, what on earth was she thinking of.