What Are The 4 Basic Types Of Pelvis?

Have you ever felt ache or discomfort after sitting in front of a computer or laptop for a long time? You might be feeling back pain in this situation. This back pain may actually get worse if you are on your knees or squatting on the ground. Apart from back pain, your pelvis area may actually feel some ache or discomfort too. Do you know about your pelvis well? In this DoctorOnCall’s article, we will learn more about pelvis.

The pelvis is the bottom part of the human body. Pelvis is placed between the legs and the abdomen. It is in a shape of the bowl, produced by the two coxal bone attached to the sacrum and coccyx bones. At the front side of the pelvis, you can find a small piece of cartilage known as the pubic symphysis. This piece are portion of the two coxal bones that does not attached with each other but these two are joined with the pubic symphysis.

Have you ever wondered what the function of the pelvis is? Main function of the pelvis to stabilise the human body, able to bear weight and to transfer load from the upper body onto the lower limbs while walking or standing. The pelvic cavity contains the urinary bladder, colon and the internal reproductive organs. The pelvis also works as thermoregulation as larger pelvis help to preserve body temperature in cold environments and narrower pelvis help to clear heat in tropical climates. The importance of pelvis is significant in the female reproductive system as it helps with pregnancy and childbirth.

Pelvis are divided into 2 regions which are false pelvis and the true pelvis. False pelvis is the one related to the abdominal cavity. True pelvis is the lower part surrounded by the ischium portion from coxal bones and pubis, ilium and sacrum of the lower portion. These 2 regions actually play a role in pregnant women as the true pelvis is associated with the space for babies to squeeze through at childbirth. Furthermore, there are differences in the male and female pelvises because female pelvises have the means to be the birth canal. Females have larger and rounder pelvic cavities. This brings us to the 4 basic types of pelvis.

The 4 basic types of pelvis are gynaecoid, android, anthropoid and platypelloid. Gynaecoid are the most common types of pelvis in females, characterised by round or slightly transversally oval shaped. Android is said to be the classic form of pelvis in male with the “pear-shaped” brim and widest transverse diameter at the brim. Anthropoid is the ape-like shape where there is the long narrow oval shape shaped by the larger anterior-posterior diameter at the brim. Platypelloid is a form of the flat or oval transversally formed by the lateral diameter larger than anterior-posterior. We can say that most females will have gynaecoid pelvis and it is deemed as the most suitable one for vaginal birth. Platypelloid pelvis is the less common type and often the cause for complications in childbirth. Male will often have the android pelvis.

Since females are likely to be affected when mentioning the pelvis, you may wonder what kind of disease or health condition that is related to the pelvis. There are many conditions that can affect the female pelvis. One of the many is pelvic inflammatory disease. This disease is an infection that only occurs in females but male may catch sexually transmitted infections (STI) or pass on the infection to others. Pelvic inflammatory disease is often the complication from sexually transmitted disease (STDs) such as gonorrhoea and chlamydia. It is important to treat pelvic inflammatory disease as it can lead to infertility issues and risky pregnancy such as ectopic pregnancy. Symptoms may be mild or none at all but a person with pelvic inflammatory disease may have symptoms such as pain in the lower abdomen, fever, bad odour with unusual discharge from the vagina, pain and/or bleeding during sexual intercourse and burning sensation when passing urine.  Antibiotics often is used to treat pelvic inflammatory disease.

Last but not least, the importance of pelvis in female reproduction is highlighted here. Beside the fact that female pelvis is wider than male that assist in pregnancy and childbirth, pelvis do changes during pregnancy with the help of hormones. Such adjustment will support the growing baby in pregnancy and assist in childbirth. Although changes can be good, many might feel pain or discomfort to the pelvis itself. To ease the pain or discomfort, patients can apply heat packs to the painful areas and avoid standing or walking for prolonged time. Patients may also want to be careful when moving around, wear low-heeled supportive shoe apparel and might want to see a physiotherapist for advice. It is important for pregnant women to follow all advice or introductions by their healthcare provider to ensure pregnancy is safe and healthy.