For Feb 10, 2017

Laboratory Exercise #19 Pelvis 1 – Pelvic construction, wall and cavity and
neurovascular structures and muscles
Pelvic organs common to both male and female.

Materials and Resources

 Articulated and disarticulated bones of he pelvis
 Chart of pelvis/skeleton
 Models of male and female pelvis with muscles and pelvic viscera
 Torso models
 Cadavers
 Laboratory guide
 Textbooks of Gross Anatomy
 Atlas of Gross Anatomy
 Laboratory technician

Mechanics
I. Study of articulated and disarticulated bones of the pelvis
Identify the true and the false pelvis. Identify the bones of the false
pelvis. Identify their parts.
Identify the pelvic inlet and its bony boundaries. Identify its part of
the bony boundaries of the pelvic inlet.
Examine the walls of the true pelvis. Identify the bones. Identify their
parts.
Identify the pelvic outlet and its bony boundaries.
Identify the notches – greater and lesser sciatic notches, obturator
notch.
What is between the greater and lesser sciatic notches? What
ligaments complete the boundaries of the sciatic foramen?

II. Study of models of pelvis

Identify the true and false pelvis.
Identify the pelvic inlet.
Examine the walls. Identify the muscles and blood vessels.
Identify the branches of abdominal aorta, direct or secondary branches

III. Dissection
Retract the sigmoid colon to one side. Peel off the peritoneum to
expose the blood vessels and muscles.
Identify the common iliac artery. Trace it to its bifurcation into
external and internal iliacs.
Expose the blood vessels and identify and isolate branches. Refer to
your atlas for the branches.
Arteries and veins run parallel except for the umbilical artery, which
has no accompanying vein.
 Identify the muscles. The levator ani can be identified at its origin
from the back of the body of pubes.
Identify the obturator internus at the lateral wall
Trace the origin of the levator ani laterally in front of the obturator
internus.
Locate the piriformis muscles on each side of the sacrum. Identify the
branches of sacral plexus on its surface. Trace the roots of this plexus.
Locate the lumbosacral trunk as it descends into the pelvic cavity
crossing the ala of the sacrum.
Identify the obturator nerve on the internal surface of the obturator
internus accompanied by vein and nerve.

Pelvic viscera common to both male and female- rectum and urinary bladder
I. Torso model (male/female)
In a torso model locate the rectum and urinary bladder viewed from
above. Identify the proximal continuation of the rectum – the sigmoid colon.
Compare the features of sigmoid and rectum. Tabulate.

What is the vertebral level of the commencement; and termination of the

rectum. What the distal continuation of the rectum?

Identify the urinary bladder, its parts as seen from above – the apex, body
and fundus. What structure is in front (anterior) to the urinary bladder?

II. Model of the sagittal section of the male and female pelvi
Urinary bladder
Identify the urinary bladder and the rectum. Name the space between the
urinary bladder and the pubis.

Identify the external features/parts of the urinary bladder – apex,

body and fundus, and the termination of the ureter (ureterovesical junction)
Identify the ligament attached to the apex and extending to the
anterior abdominal wall.
What is this ligament? Give its significance.
 Identify the internal features of the urinary bladder – ureteral orifice,
internal urethral orifice, and the vesical trigone.
In female pelvis, what organ is posterior to the urinary bladder? Name
the space between it and the urinary bladder.

Identify the organ and the space.

Identify the organ inferior to the male urinary bladder and inferior to
the female urinary bladder. What are these organs?

Detached the urinary bladder from the model of a male pelvis.

Examine the posterior surface. Identify the organs applied to this surface.
Name them.

Rectum
In male pelvis what is anterior to the rectum?
Identify the internal features of the rectum – the transverse rectal
folds (Houston’s valves). State the importance of these features.

In female pelvis what organ is anterior to the rectum? Identify this

organ.

Name the space between them. Identify the space.