The iliac furrow, also known as an athlete's girdle, Apollo's Belt or an Adonis belt, is a term for a part of the human anatomy. It refers to either one of two shallow grooves of the surface anatomy of the human abdomen running from the iliac crest (hip bone) to the pubis. It is not a currently defined term in Terminologia Anatomica, though it has been used as a formal anatomical term in the past.
The term "iliac furrow" does not appear in any of the abstracts indexed by PubMed. In modern usage, it is more common to discuss the surface anatomy in terms of nearby structures such as the inguinal ligament or iliac crest.
The term "iliac furrow" still often encountered when reading about art history, and the term "Apollo's belt" is often used by bodybuilders and their admirers. The expression "adonis belt" is also encountered, though less common, from the sense of adonis as any handsome young man (cf. the myth of Adonis).
An indentation on a male's waist caused by wearing a too-tight belt is often referred to as an Apollo's belt, although most men develop this indentation from constant waistband and belt pressure.
Famous quotes containing the words apollo and/or belt:
“Here Men from The Planet Earth
First Set Foot upon The Moon
July, 1969 AD
We Came in Peace for All Mankind”
—Plaque left behind on the moon’s surface by the crew of Apollo 11.
“The shore is composed of a belt of smooth rounded white stones like paving-stones, excepting one or two short sand beaches, and is so steep that in many places a single leap will carry you into water over your head; and were it not for its remarkable transparency, that would be the last to be seen of its bottom till it rose on the opposite side. Some think it is bottomless.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)