Ontogenetic study of the supraorbital region in modern humans: a longitudinal test of the spatial model

Anthropol Anz. 2006 Jun;64(2):147-60.

Abstract

The structural significance of the hominid supraorbital torus and its morphological variation have always been a controversial topic in physical anthropology. Understanding the function of browridge variation in living and fossil human populations is relevant to questions of human evolution. This study utilizes radiograph images to evaluate the spatial model in modern humans during ontogeny. This structural model attributes variation in the supraorbital region to the positional relationship between the neurocranium and the orbits. The relationship between measurements of the antero-posterior supraorbital length and the factors specified in the spatial model were assessed by correlation and partial correlation analyses. Growth rates were also examined to study ontogenetic trajectories and infer aspects of developmental relationships between critical variables. Results agree with previous research supporting the existence of spatial influences between the neural and orbital-upper facial regions on browridge length during ontogeny.

MeSH terms

  • Adolescent
  • Anthropometry / methods*
  • Child
  • Child, Preschool
  • Computer Simulation
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Infant
  • Infant, Newborn
  • Male
  • Models, Anatomic
  • Models, Biological*
  • Orbit / anatomy & histology*
  • Orbit / diagnostic imaging
  • Orbit / growth & development*
  • Radiographic Image Interpretation, Computer-Assisted / methods*