pelvis

In vertebrates, the lower area of the abdomen featuring the bones and muscles used to move the legs or hindlimbs. The pelvic girdle is a set of bones that allows movement of the legs in relation to the rest of the body and provides sites for the attachment of relevant muscles.

The pelvic girdle is formed by the sacrum, the coccyx, and the hip bones; each of the hip bones consists of three originally separate bones, grown together in the adult: the ilium, ischium, and pubis. At the junction of these a socket is formed which takes the ball-end of the femur, or thigh-bone. The pelvic organs for both sexes are the rectum and urinary bladder; for the male, the seminal vesicles and the prostate gland; for the female, the uterus and ovaries. The female pelvis is broader but shallower and is in general adapted to the requirements of child-bearing.