Lesser sciatic foramen

Lesser sciatic foramen
Articulations of pelvis. Anterior view.
Articulations of pelvis. Posterior view.
Latin	foramen ischiadicum minus
Gray's	subject #80 309
Dorlands/Elsevier	f_12/12373178

An opening between the pelvis and the posterior thigh, the foramen is formed by the sacrotuberous ligament which runs between the sacrum and the ischial tuberosity and the sacrospinous ligament which runs between the sacrum and the ischial spine.

Boundaries

The lesser sciatic foramen has the following boundaries:

• Anterior: the tuberosity of the ischium
• Superior: the spine of the ischium and sacrospinous ligament
• Posterior: the sacrotuberous ligament

Alternatively, the foramen can be defined by the boundaries of the lesser sciatic notch and the two ligaments.

Contents

It transmits the following structures:

• the tendon of the Obturator internus
• internal pudendal artery
• internal pudendal veins
• pudendal nerve

External links

• SUNY Labs 41:os-0111 - "The Female Perineum: Osteology"

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 As such, some of the information contained herein may be outdated.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.