The greater sciatic foramen is an opening (

foramen In anatomy and osteology, a foramen (;Entry "foramen"
in

human pelvis The pelvis (plural pelves or pelvises) is the lower part of the Trunk (anatomy), trunk, between the human abdomen, abdomen and the thighs (sometimes also called pelvic region), together with its embedded skeleton (sometimes also called bony pel ...

. It is formed by the

sacrotuberous The sacrotuberous ligament (great or posterior sacrosciatic ligament) is situated at the lower and back part of the pelvis. It is flat, and triangular in form; narrower in the middle than at the ends. Structure It runs from the sacrum (the lower ...

and

sacrospinous ligament The sacrospinous ligament (small or anterior sacrosciatic ligament) is a thin, triangular ligament in the human pelvis. The base of the ligament is attached to the outer edge of the sacrum and coccyx, and the tip of the ligament attaches to the sp ...

s. The

piriformis muscle The piriformis muscle () is a flat, pyramidally-shaped muscle in the gluteal region of the lower limbs. It is one of the six muscles in the lateral rotator group. The piriformis muscle has its origin upon the front surface of the sacrum, and inse ...

passes through the foramen and occupies most of its volume. The greater sciatic foramen is wider in women than in men.

Structure

It is bounded as follows: * anterolaterally by the

greater sciatic notch The greater sciatic notch is a notch in the ilium (bone), ilium, one of the bones that make up the human pelvis. It lies between the posterior inferior iliac spine (above), and the ischial spine (below). The sacrospinous ligament changes this notch ...

of the ilium. * posteromedially by the

sacrotuberous ligament The sacrotuberous ligament (great or posterior sacrosciatic ligament) is situated at the lower and back part of the pelvis. It is flat, and triangular in form; narrower in the middle than at the ends. Structure It runs from the sacrum (the lower ...

. * inferiorly by the

and the ischial spine. * superiorly by the anterior sacroiliac ligament.

Function

The

piriformis The piriformis muscle () is a flat, pyramidally-shaped muscle in the gluteal region of the lower limbs. It is one of the six muscles in the lateral rotator group. The piriformis muscle has its origin upon the front surface of the sacrum, and in ...

, which exits the pelvis through the foramen, occupies most of its volume. The following structures also exit the pelvis through the greater sciatic foramen:

References

External links

* * * (, ) {{Authority control Anatomy Bones of the pelvis

Structure

Function

See also

References

External links