The auricular surface is the ear-shaped joint surface on the inner back part of the ilium that meets the matching auricular surface of the sacrum to form the sacroiliac joint. Its irregular ridges and hollows interlock with the sacrum, giving the joint great stability. Behind and above it lies the rough iliac tuberosity, where the very strong interosseous sacroiliac ligament attaches.
| Articulations | |
|---|---|
| Landmarks |
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| Ossification | Part of the ilium, which ossifies from a primary centre appearing around the eighth to ninth fetal week; the joint surface is lined with hyaline cartilage that thins with age. |
The auricular surface is the iliac side of the sacroiliac joint, a source of low back and buttock pain in sacroiliac joint dysfunction, in inflammatory sacroiliitis (as in ankylosing spondylitis) and during pregnancy. Erosions and sclerosis on both sides of the joint on MRI or X-ray help diagnose axial spondyloarthritis. In forensic anthropology, age-related changes in the texture of the auricular surface are used to estimate age at death.
Inflammation of the sacroiliac joint, typical of ankylosing spondylitis and other spondyloarthritides, causing buttock and low back pain worse with rest and in the early morning.
Pain arising from the sacroiliac joint from altered mechanics, trauma or pregnancy, felt in the buttock and sometimes the back of the thigh.
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