Bone: Ischium of pelvis
Pelvic girdle
Left hip-joint, opened by removing the floor of the acetabulum from within the pelvis. (Ischium labeled at bottom left.)
Latin	os ischii
Gray's	subject #57 234
MeSH	Ischium

The ischium forms the lower and back part of the hip bone (os coxae). The word comes from the Greek ischion, meaning "hip." (Taber's, 1985).

Situated below the ilium and behind the |pubis, it is one of these three bones whose fusion creates the coxa.

It is divisible into three portions:

• Body of ischium - the portion that supports weight while sitting (especially noticeable on a hard surface).
• Superior ramus of the ischium
• Inferior ramus of the ischium

It is the strongest of the coxal bones.

Additional images

Right hip bone. External surface.	Right hip bone. Internal surface.	Plan of ossification of the hip bone.	Male pelvis.
The Obturator externus.	Pelvis

External links

• SUNY Labs 44:st-0722 - "The Male Pelvis: Hip Bone"
• ischium at eMedicine Dictionary
• Cross section at UV pelvis/pelvis-e12-15

References

This article was originally based on an entry from a public domain edition of Gray's Anatomy. As such, some of the information contained herein may be outdated. Please edit the article if this is the case, and feel free to remove this notice when it is no longer relevant.

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