ADA-469: Turning the Pelvic Planes into Something Students Can Hold

Short answer: The ADA-469 is a life-size adult pelvic model built to demonstrate pelvimetry. It shows the three planes of the pelvic cavity — the pelvic inlet plane, the pelvic midplane and the pelvic outlet plane — and carries the landmarks that those planes are defined by: the hip, sacrum, sacral promontory, coccyx, ischial tuberosity, sacroiliac joints, iliopubic eminence and pubic symphysis, together with the fourth and fifth lumbar vertebrae. It is certified to ISO and CE standards and is intended for obstetrics and midwifery teaching, not for clinical measurement on patients.

Key takeaways

• Life-size adult pelvis with accurate anatomical structure
• Three pelvic planes shown: inlet, midplane and outlet
• Includes hip, sacrum, sacral promontory, coccyx, ischial tuberosity
• Includes sacroiliac joints, iliopubic eminence, pubic symphysis and L4-L5
• ISO and CE certified
• For obstetrics, midwifery and clinical-anatomy teaching; price on request

The landmarks that define each plane

Why pelvimetry still belongs in the curriculum

Clinical pelvimetry is a genuinely contested topic, and the honest way to teach it is to present both sides. A 2025 review in Cureus examined whether pelvimetry is a relevant tool or an outdated concept, noting that although it is no longer considered standard clinical practice in the United States, there is still an emphasis on teaching the concept as part of medical education and within clinical anatomy and obstetrics textbooks [1]. That is precisely the niche the ADA-469 fills: it is a teaching aid for the anatomy that underpins the discussion, not a device for deciding on a mode of birth.

Where imaging does inform practice, the anatomy still has to be understood first. A 2025 feasibility study published in Acta Obstetricia et Gynecologica Scandinavica notes that MR pelvimetry is widely used when planning vaginal breech birth and can support a woman's informed decision-making, and the study set out to test whether transperineal ultrasound can measure the maternal pelvis as accurately [2]. Whatever the imaging modality, the clinician interpreting the images is reading planes and landmarks — inlet, midplane, outlet — and those are exactly the structures a physical pelvis model lets a student trace with a finger.

There is also a general effect that runs in favour of a model over a slide. The meta-analysis by Yammine and Violato in Advances in Health Sciences Education (2016), covering 8 studies (7 randomised), 16 comparison arms and 820 learners, found that physical models delivered better factual and spatial knowledge outcomes than comparator teaching methods [3]. Pelvimetry is a spatial task by definition: getting students to physically locate the inlet, midplane and outlet before they meet them on an image is a cheap way to raise the floor of the whole cohort.

Running a session with the ADA-469

1. Palpate the landmarks. Have each student locate the sacral promontory, ischial tuberosities and pubic symphysis on the model — the same landmarks used in clinical assessment.
2. Draw the planes. Place the three planes on the model and ask students to define each one by the structures it passes through.
3. Measure and compare. Practise measuring the diagonal conjugates and transverse diameters, then compare the numbers with the textbook ranges and discuss why measurement varies.
4. Discuss the evidence. Close the session with the current debate about pelvimetry and imaging, so students learn the anatomy and the limits of the technique in the same lesson.

Configuration and honest notes

The product page lists only the features reproduced above and does not publish a price, so quotations are handled by inquiry. The model is certified to ISO and CE standards — useful when a school requires documentation for procurement. It is a teaching model; it is not intended for clinical diagnosis or for measurements used in patient care.

FAQ

Q1. What is the ADA-469 used for?
Teaching pelvimetry and pelvic anatomy: the three pelvic planes and the landmarks that define them, for obstetrics, midwifery and anatomy courses.

Q2. Which planes does it show?
Three — the pelvic inlet plane, the pelvic midplane and the pelvic outlet plane.

Q3. Which anatomical structures are included?
Hip, sacrum, sacral promontory, coccyx, ischial tuberosity, sacroiliac joints, iliopubic eminence, pubic symphysis, and the fourth and fifth lumbar vertebrae.

Q4. Is it life size?
Yes, it is a life-size adult pelvis model with accurate anatomical structure.

Q5. Is it certified?
The product page states ISO and CE certification.

Q6. How do I get a price or documentation?
Email chinoncpr@adaanatomy.com with the model (ADA-469), the quantity and the destination. We will send pricing, lead time and the certification documents your procurement office needs.

Request a quotation

Email chinoncpr@adaanatomy.com for the ADA-469 price list and certificates. Midwifery and obstetrics departments often order this model together with a female pelvic skeleton and a fetal skull for a complete birth-mechanism station — ask us for a combined quotation.

References

1. Modern Utility of Pelvimetry: a Relevant Tool or an Outdated Concept?. Cureus. 2025
2. Prediction of obstetric outcome in vaginal breech birth using ultrasound pelvimetry in nulliparous women — a feasibility study. Acta Obstetricia et Gynecologica Scandinavica. 2025
3. Yammine K, Violato C. The effectiveness of physical models in teaching anatomy: a meta-analysis of comparative studies. Advances in Health Sciences Education: Theory and Practice. 2016