Three‐dimensional analysis of sexual dimorphism in ribcage kinematics of modern humans

Objectives Sexual dimorphism is an important biological factor underlying morphological variation in the human skeleton. Previous research found sex‐related differences in the static ribcage, with males having more horizontally oriented ribs and a wider lower ribcage than females. Furthermore, a rec...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:American journal of physical anthropology 2019-06, Vol.169 (2), p.348-355
Main Authors: García‐Martínez, Daniel, Bastir, Markus, Torres‐Tamayo, Nicole, O'Higgins, Paul, Torres‐Sánchez, Isabel, García‐Río, Francisco, Heuzé, Yann
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Anthropology, Physical
Biological anthropology
Biomechanical Phenomena - physiology
Body composition
Dimensional analysis
Dummy
Female
Females
Gender differences
geometric morphometrics
Humanities and Social Sciences
Humans
Imaging, Three-Dimensional - methods
Inspiration
Kinematics
Landmarks
Lungs
Male
Males
Metabolism
Middle Aged
Morphology
Oxygen
Oxygen demand
Principal components analysis
Rib cage
Rib Cage - anatomy & histology
Rib Cage - physiology
ribcage
Sex Characteristics
Sex differences
Sexes
sexual dimorphism
Tomography, X-Ray Computed
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Summary:Objectives Sexual dimorphism is an important biological factor underlying morphological variation in the human skeleton. Previous research found sex‐related differences in the static ribcage, with males having more horizontally oriented ribs and a wider lower ribcage than females. Furthermore, a recent study found sex‐related differences in the kinematics of the human lungs, with cranio‐caudal movements of the caudal part of the lungs accounting for most of the differences between sexes. However, these movements cannot be quantified in the skeletal ribcage, so we do not know if the differences observed in the lungs are also reflected in sex differences in the motion of the skeletal thorax. Materials and methods To address this issue, we quantified the morphological variation of 42 contemporary human ribcages (sex‐balanced) in both maximal inspiration and expiration using 526 landmarks and semilandmarks. Thoracic centroid size differences between sexes were assessed using a t test, and shape differences were assessed using Procrustes shape coordinates, through mean comparisons and dummy regressions of shape on kinematic status. A principal components analysis was used to explore the full range of morphological variation. Results Our results show significant size differences between males and females both in inspiration and expiration (p 
ISSN:0002-9483
1096-8644
2692-7691
DOI:10.1002/ajpa.23829