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The five vertebræ below the thoracic are known as the lumbar vertebræ. These bones are large and strong and admit of considerable motion. Below the last lumbar vertebra is a wedge-shaped bone which has the appearance of five vertebræ fused together. This bone, known as the sacrum, connects with the large bones which form the pelvic girdle.

No doubt, had the pelvic bone belonged to any recent mammifer other than Man, such a theory would never have been resorted to; but so long as we have only one isolated case, and are without the testimony of a geologist who was present to behold the bone when still engaged in the matrix, and to extract it with his own hands, it is allowable to suspend our judgment as to the high antiquity of the fossil.

In the latter category come such accidents as the pressure of tumours in the pelvic passages, or disease of the bones in the mother, or pressure on the cord from malposition of the child during labour, asphyxiation from the funis being twisted tightly round the neck or limbs, or from injuries due to falls on the floor in sudden labours.

If operated severely, and higher up, great exudation occurs, which spreads upward, invades the areolar tissue round the rectum and other pelvic organs, and death soon puts an end to the animal's excruciating suffering.

Modern neurologists speak of the abdominal and pelvic brains, denoting thereby sympathetic nerve-centres in those parts which are strongly affected by any psychical action. This view of mental physiology once admitted, the syllogism of seppuku is easy to construct. "I will open the seat of my soul and show you how it fares with it. See for yourself whether it is polluted or clean."

This is a wonderful contrast to the fixity of position of vertebrate limbs generally. Yet, with these exceptions, the position of the limbs is constant from the lower fishes up to man, there being always an anterior pectoral pair placed in front of a posterior or pelvic pair when both are present, and in no single instance are there more than these two pairs.

The larvae are free-swimming and have the pelvic fins elongated into filaments. The British species is found all round the coasts of Europe and western North America, but becomes scarce beyond 60° N. lat.; it occurs also on the coasts of the Cape of Good Hope.

The Changes in the Uterus The Lochia The Return of Menstruation Other Restorative Changes: The Loss in Weight; The Abdominal Wall; The Pelvic Floor The Care of the Patient: The Elimination of Waste Material; Cleanliness; The Diet; The Environment; The Time for Getting up The Final Examination. A generation ago physicians were accustomed to see their obstetrical patients only at the time of labor.

For instance, in comparing the sexes we find that in a woman the lumbar curve is more marked and extends slightly higher than in a man, and that the broad sacrum characteristic of the human race is even wider, being thus adapted to the broader hips and wider pelvic cavity of the child- bearing sex.

Such a condition may exist in women who have not borne children, but it is far more likely to occur as a result of childbirth. After delivery, the enlarged womb becomes the seat of intricate changes, the purpose of which is the restoration of the organ to the condition which existed before conception. It dwindles in size, and gradually drops to its accustomed location within the pelvic cavity.