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Changes in the Appendicular Skeleton with Age01:09

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The upper and lower limb initially develops as a small bulge called a limb bud, which appears on the lateral side of the early embryo. The upper limb bud appears near the end of the fourth week of development, with the lower limb bud appearing shortly after.
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The tibia is the main weight-bearing bone of the lower leg. It is larger than the fibula with which it is paired. The tibia is also the second longest bone in the body and is located right below the skin. The proximal end of the tibia forms the medial and the lateral condyle, which articulates with the condyles of the femur to form the knee joint. Between the articulating surfaces is the irregular elevated area known as the intercondylar eminence that serves as the inferior attachment point for...
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Bones of the Lower Limb: Femur and Patella01:16

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The femur is the body's longest and strongest bone spanning the thigh region. Its head articulates with the acetabulum of the hip bone to form the hip joint. A minor indentation on the medial side of the femoral head, called the fovea capitis, serves as the site of attachment for the ligament of the head of the femur. This weak ligament spans the femur and acetabulum and supports the hip joint. The narrowed region below the head is the neck of the femur. The inclination angle between the...
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Bones of the Upper Limb: Humerus01:19

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The upper limb consists of the arm, forearm, wrist, and hand bones. The humerus is the single bone of the upper arm region. Proximally, it has a large, spherical, smooth head that articulates with the glenoid cavity of the scapula to form the glenohumeral or shoulder joint. The margin of the head is the anatomical neck, a residual epiphyseal plate. Laterally it extends to form bony projections called the greater tubercle and the lesser tubercle. Next to the tubercles is the surgical neck, a...
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Joints form during embryonic development in conjunction with the formation and growth of the associated bones. The embryonic tissue that gives rise to all bones, cartilage, and connective tissues of the body is called mesenchyme.
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The bones of the human skeletal system are of varied shapes, sizes, and functions. They can be classified based on their shape and function into four major classes: long bones, short bones, flat bones, and irregular bones. Some classifications include a fifth type, the sesamoid bones, as a separate class, whereas others categorize them under short bones.
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Subject-specific Musculoskeletal Model for Studying Bone Strain During Dynamic Motion
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Limb bone allometry in modern Euro-Americans.

R L Jantz1, L Meadows Jantz1

  • 1Department of Anthropology, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Tennessee, 37996-0720.

American Journal of Physical Anthropology
|March 21, 2017
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Secular changes in human limb proportions are not solely due to increasing body size. Limb bone allometry and developmental plasticity suggest environmental influences on modern American growth.

Keywords:
limb bone proportionspost cranialprincipal componentssecular change

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Area of Science:

  • Human biology
  • Anthropometry
  • Evolutionary biology

Background:

  • Secular trends in human physical characteristics, such as limb proportions, have been observed over time.
  • Allometry, the study of size-dependent biological traits, is a key framework for understanding these changes.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate static and secular allometry in human limb bone lengths from 1840-1989.
  • To test the hypothesis that secular changes in brachial and crural indices are driven by allometric responses to increasing body size.

Main Methods:

  • Analysis of humerus, radius, femur, and tibia lengths from 19th and 20th-century skeletons.
  • Assessment of static (within cohorts) and secular (across cohorts) allometry using covariance matrices and eigenvectors.
  • Examination of shape variables and principal components to identify allometric departures.

Main Results:

  • Secular covariance matrices revealed significant departures from static allometry.
  • Humerus showed stronger negative allometry, while the tibia exhibited stronger positive allometry over time.
  • Relative humerus length decreased, and relative tibia length increased, with the last principal component showing the most variation.

Conclusions:

  • Secular changes in limb proportions are not fully explained by allometric responses to size alone.
  • Significant variation in limb proportions suggests disrupted developmental canalization due to modern environmental factors.