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Is Bone Elevation in Hand Muscle Attachments Associated with Biomechanical Stress? A Histological Approach to an Anthropological Question

Fotios Alexandros Karakostis · Dimitrios G. Vlachodimitropoulos · Maria Piagkou · Heike Scherf · Katerina Harvati · Konstantinos Moraitis

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Forensic Anthropology and Bioarchaeology Studies Pleistocene-Era Hominins and Archaeology Paleopathology and ancient diseases

Abstract

In anthropological sciences, muscle attachments are typically utilized for reconstructing the physical activities of past human populations. This approach relies on the concept that entheseal bone morphology is influenced by cumulative biomechanical stress. A fundamental criterion for assessing the stage of entheseal change involves the proportion of elevated bone area. However, it is not yet clear if bone elevation is associated with biomechanical forces exerted during physical activity, while the histology of the entheses of the human hand, the least-bodyweight-bearing anatomical area, is not fully investigated. Multiple previous studies on entheses have concluded that the concentration of calcified fibrocartilage reflects the level of applied forces. On this basis, if hand entheseal surface elevation was associated with the level of biomechanical stress, then a greater amount of calcified fibrocartilage would be expected in entheses' central and more projecting bone areas. More importantly, individual entheses with a greater proportion of elevated bone areas would present a higher total concentration of calcified fibrocartilage. To test these hypotheses, this pilot study conducted a histological quantitative analysis on two thumb entheses of four fully-documented body donors. Across individuals, all central entheseal regions presented greater calcified fibrocartilage, while the entheses showing additional bone elevation in their marginal areas comprised substantially higher total values. The observations of this small-scale pilot study support the concept that interindividual differences in entheseal bone morphology are related to varying levels of biomechanical loading. Furthermore, they encourage future research to compile larger sample sizes, for comparing individuals with distinct lifelong activities. Anat Rec, 302:1093-1103, 2019. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

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1995Activity‐induced musculoskeletal stress markers (MSM) and subsistence strategy changes among ancient Hudson Bay Eskimos 2012The effect of age, sex, and physical activity on entheseal morphology in a contemporary Italian skeletal collection 2009What do muscle marker ruggedness scores actually tell us?2017Occupational manual activity is reflected on the patterns among hand entheses 2012Using Enthesis Robusticity to Infer Activity in the Past: A Review 2014Exploring the relationship between entheseal changes and physical activity: A multivariate study 2016Morphometric patterns among the 3D surface areas of human hand entheses 2012Three‐dimensional Surface Area of the Distal Biceps Enthesis, Relationship to Body Size, Sex, Age and Secular Changes in a 20th Century American Sample

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