Hip

Hip
Bones of the hip region
Right hip of a female human
Details
Identifiers
Latincoxa
Greekισχίο
MeSHD006615
TA98A01.2.08.005
TA2316
Anatomical terminology

In vertebrate anatomy, the hip, or coxa[1](pl.: coxae) in medical terminology, refers to either an anatomical region or a joint on the outer (lateral) side of the pelvis.

The hip region is located lateral and anterior to the gluteal region, inferior to the iliac crest, and lateral to the obturator foramen, with muscle tendons and soft tissues overlying the greater trochanter of the femur.[2] In adults, the three pelvic bones (ilium, ischium and pubis) have fused into one hip bone, which forms the superomedial/deep wall of the hip region.

The hip joint, scientifically referred to as the acetabulofemoral joint (art. coxae), is the ball-and-socket joint between the pelvic acetabulum and the femoral head. Its primary function is to support the weight of the torso in both static (e.g. standing) and dynamic (e.g. walking or running) postures. The hip joints have very important roles in retaining balance, and for maintaining the pelvic inclination angle.

Pain of the hip may be the result of numerous causes, including nervous, osteoarthritic, infectious, traumatic, and genetic.

  1. ^ Latin coxa was used by Celsus in the sense "hip", but by Pliny the Elder in the sense "hip bone" (Diab, p 77)
  2. ^ "hip region". MediLexicon. Retrieved 2018-08-02.