Biological and Physical Anthropology Commons^™

Sphenoidal Sinuses And Spherical Harmonics: Variation And Covariation Of The Most Morphologically Diverse And Least Understood Paranasal Sinus, Katharine Grace Josephine Ryan

Doctoral Dissertations

Understanding the shape variation of the human sphenoidal sinus is important to several areas of research. This includes clinical investigation (sinus pathology and safe endoscopic endonasal surgical practice) and paranasal sinus evolution (for which there is still no consensus). Yet, the sphenoidal sinus has high morphological variation, prohibiting its quantification through traditional geometric morphometric landmarking methods. The sphenoid body, and thus also the sinus contained within, is located directly at the developmental center of the basicranium in humans, where the three cranial fossae meet at the midline, and adjacent to the three synchondroses which are the sites of cranial base …

Articular Morphology In Human Limb Synovial Joints: Variation, Covariation, And Application, Haley Elizabeth Horbaly

Doctoral Dissertations

Human limb joints are complex skeletal structures that must fulfill the roles of mobility, stability, and articular fit. These roles often place competing demands on joint morphology resulting in trade-offs (e.g., joints allowing greater mobility are usually less stable), but it is unknown how the tension among these antagonistic pressures patterns the morphological relationships within and among our joint surfaces. This dissertation is the first study to analyze intra- and inter-joint variation for all the major joints of the upper and lower limb in the modern human skeleton, and to explore potential applications of the patterns observed.

To address questions …