Anais do I Simpósio Brasileiro de Morfologia Comparada de Vertebrados

Epipubic bones are paired bones ventrally projected in the abdomen, articulated in the pubis, present on the pelvic girdle of some mammals as monotremes, marsupials and basal eutherians. These bones were commonly related with pouch support in marsupials and more recently, associated with their locomotion. Despite the well establish anatomy nomenclature for the mammal skeleton, there is no names for the epipubic bones structures. Since its description and further studies of the epipubic bones, the lack of names for their anatomical structures difficult a proper morphological description. After dissections and literature review, we proposed a nomenclature for the structures of these bones based on muscle attachments and comparisons with bone structures as the humerus. The structures were named as follows: the epipubic crest, is the most cranial extremity were the linea alba and the m. pyramidalis attaches; the epipubic ramus, it is the body of the bone where the m. pyramidalis is attached; the epipubic lateral tubercle, it would be the most lateral extremity with the connection of the inguinal ligament and, the epipubic medial tubercle, that would be the most medial extremity of the bone with the attachment of the m. pectineus. We believe that this nomenclature will help in future morphologic studies comprising epipubic bones.