Hip bone Hip bone The hip bone (os coxa, innominate bone, pelvic bone or coxal bone) is a large flat bone, constricted in the center and expanded above and below. In some vertebrates (including humans before puberty) it is composed of three parts: the ilium, ischium, and the pubis. The two hip bones join at the pubic symphysis and together with the sacrum and coccyx (the pelvic part of the spine) comprise the skeletal component of the pelvis – the pelvic girdle which surrounds the pelvic cavity. They are connected to the sacrum, which is part of the axial skeleton, at the
Sacrum moves anteriorly, "counter-nutation". In upright vertebrates, the sacrum is capable of slight independent movement along the sagittal plane. On bending backward the top (base) of the sacrum moves forward relative to the ilium; on bending forward the top moves back. The "sacrum" refers to all of the parts combined. Its parts are called "sacral vertebrae" when referred individually. In some cases the sacrum will consist of six pieces or be reduced in number to four. The bodies of the first and second vertebrae may fail to unite. Sometimes the uppermost transverse tubercles are not joined to the rest of the