Morphological and functional implications of sexual dimorphism in the human skeletal thorax

Objectives The human respiratory apparatus is characterized by sexual dimorphism, the cranial airways of males being larger (both absolutely and relatively) than those of females. These differences have been linked to sex‐specific differences in body composition, bioenergetics, and respiratory funct...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:American journal of physical anthropology 2016-11, Vol.161 (3), p.467-477
Main Authors: García-Martínez, Daniel, Torres-Tamayo, Nicole, Torres-Sanchez, Isabel, García-Río, Francisco, Bastir, Markus
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult
Aged
Anthropology, Physical
Anthropometry
Female
geometric morphometrics
Humans
Male
Males
Middle Aged
rib cage
Ribs - anatomy & histology
Ribs - physiology
Sex Characteristics
sex differences
Thoracic Vertebrae - anatomy & histology
Thoracic Vertebrae - physiology
Thorax
Thorax - anatomy & histology
Thorax - physiology
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Objectives The human respiratory apparatus is characterized by sexual dimorphism, the cranial airways of males being larger (both absolutely and relatively) than those of females. These differences have been linked to sex‐specific differences in body composition, bioenergetics, and respiratory function. However, whether morpho‐functional variation in the thorax is also related to these features is less clear. We apply 3D geometric morphometrics to study these issues and their implications for respiratory function. Material and methods Four hundred two landmarks and semilandmarks were measured in CT‐reconstructions of rib cages from adult healthy subjects (Nmale = 18; Nfemale = 24) in maximal inspiration (MI) and maximal expiration (ME). After Procrustes registration, size and shape data were analyzed by mean comparisons and regression analysis. Respiratory function was quantified through functional size, which is defined as the difference of rib cage size between MI and ME. Results Males showed significantly larger thorax size (p 
ISSN:0002-9483
1096-8644
2692-7691
DOI:10.1002/ajpa.23051