What Is The Pelvis? - Dr. Mullis (VIDEO)

Dr. Mullis describes what a doctor is talking about when he/she mentions the pelvis.

Dr. Mullis:
Well, the pelvis means different things to different types of doctors. For an orthopedic trauma surgeon such as myself, usually we are talking about the bones that make up the pelvis. To an OB/GYN doctor, then they would be more focused on the soft tissue contents of the pelvis itself, but I’ll start with the bone since that’s my area of expertise.

The pelvis is made up of several bones. Most people can feel their waist bone, which is called the ilium. That’s what your belt would sit on, or shorts, and then in the front, most people can feel their pubis, which is one of the bones of the pelvis. And then, on the bottom underneath your leg, you can feel another bone; that’s the ischium. That’s one of the bones of the pelvis. And then in the back, if I lean forward you can feel, I can feel on the bottom of my back, or bottom of my spine, the sacrum.

So the pelvis is made up of all these bones–the pubis, ischium, ilium and sacrum, and together they make up the pelvis.

Now, to answer the question, as far as the soft tissues, “What makes up the pelvis?” The true pelvis is more a term that doctors use. It’s the lower part of what most of us would think is the pelvis, and then there is a part of the pelvis called the false pelvis, which is higher up.

About Dr. Mullis, M.D.:
Dr. Brian Mullis, M.D., is the Chief of Orthopaedic Trauma Service and Assistant Professor of Clinical Orthopaedics in the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery at Indiana University School of Medicine. He has a special clinical interest in orthopaedic trauma and post-traumatic complications with a focus on pelvis and acetabulum fractures, peri-articular fractures of both upper and lower extremity, bone healing, nonunions, malunions, deformity and post-traumatic infections.

Visit Dr. Mullis at Indiana University School of Medicine