Human patellar articular proportions: recent and Pleistocene patterns

Area of Science:

• Paleoanthropology
• Biomechanics
• Human Anatomy

Background:

• Patellar articular facet morphology varies within and between human populations.
• Understanding these variations is crucial for reconstructing knee function in fossil hominins.

Purpose of the Study:

• To compare mediolateral asymmetry and articular angles of the patellar facet in recent, archaic, and fossil humans.
• To investigate potential correlations between patellar proportions, robusticity, and knee kinesiology.

Main Methods:

• Comparative analysis of patellar articular facet measurements (mediolateral asymmetry, median and lateral articular angles).
• Samples included recent humans and Pleistocene archaic and modern fossil humans.

Main Results:

• All human samples displayed significant variability in patellar proportions.
• Articular angles were generally similar, but a trend of decreasing lateral angles with decreasing robusticity was observed.
• Archaic humans exhibited greater medial and lateral facet symmetry compared to recent humans.

Conclusions:

• While patellar proportions differ between archaic and recent humans, these variations are unlikely to have significantly impacted primary knee function.
• Observed contrasts may relate to differences in patellar stability or musculoskeletal hypertrophy, but their effect on knee kinesiology remains unclear.