■ LOWER LIMB HIP – Coronal section [1 female]

This coronal section through the hip illustrates the ‘ball-and-socket’ arrangement of the joint. This socket is much deeper and the ball much rounder than at the shoulder. Stability is an important function here. The two powerful abductors of the hip – gluteus medius (1) and minimus (3) – have their own neurovascular bundle (the superior gluteal nerve, artery and vein), and these can be seen between the two sheets of muscle (2).