Joint · Hips

Hip joint

Articulatio coxae

The ball and socket that carries you. The head of the femur sits deep in the acetabulum — a genuinely cup-shaped socket formed where the ilium, ischium and pubis meet — and is deepened further by a fibrocartilaginous labrum around the rim. It is the shoulder's opposite number: it trades range for stability, and its bony architecture and thick capsule make it exceptionally secure. It moves in every direction while transmitting the entire load of the upper body into the leg with every step.