Ligament of head of femur

Ligament: Ligament of head of femur
Left hip-joint, opened by removing the floor of the acetabulum from within the pelvis. (Ligamentum teres visible at center.)
Hip-joint, front view. The capsular ligament has been largely removed. (Ligam. teres visible at center.)
Latin	ligamentum capitis femoris, ligamentum teres femoris
Gray's	subject #92 336
From	femur head
To	acetabular notch
Dorlands/Elsevier	l_09/12491775

The ligament of the head of the femur, also known as the ligamentum capitis femoris or the ligamentum teres femoris, is a triangular, somewhat flattened band implanted by its apex into the antero-superior part of the fovea capitis femoris; its base is attached by two bands, one into either side of the acetabular notch, and between these bony attachments it blends with the transverse ligament.

It is ensheathed by the synovial membrane, and varies greatly in strength in different subjects; occasionally only the synovial fold exists, and in rare cases even this is absent.

The ligament is made tense when the thigh is semiflexed and the limb then abducted or rotated outward; it is, on the other hand, relaxed when the limb is adducted.

It has, however, but little influence as a ligament past childhood according to some references. According to the Encyclopedia Britannica, the ligament gives the femur a stabilizing strength which, as in the orangatan, some animals lack.

Additional images

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  Structures surrounding right hip-joint.

External links

• Ligament+of+head+of+femur at eMedicine Dictionary
• Anatomy at Dartmouth hip/hip%20ligaments/ligaments6

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 As such, some of the information contained herein may be outdated.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