Pujol Aniol, Rissech Carme, Ventura Jacint, Badosa Joaquim, Turbón Daniel
Unitat d'Antropologia Física, Departament de Biologia Animal, Facultat de Biologia, Universitat de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain.
J Anat. 2014 Sep;225(3):346-57. doi: 10.1111/joa.12209. Epub 2014 Jun 30.
In this study we describe the development of the female femur based on the analysis of high-resolution radiographic images by means of geometric morphometrics, while assessing the usefulness of this method in these kinds of studies. The material analysed consisted of digital images in DICOM format (telemetries), corresponding to 184 left femora in anterior view, obtained from the database of the Hospital Sant Joan de Déu of Barcelona (Spain). Bones analysed corresponded to individuals from 9 to 14 years old. Size and shape variation of the entire femur was quantified by 22 two-dimensional landmarks. Landmark digitisation errors were assessed using Procrustes anova test. Centroid size (CS) variation with age was evaluated by an anova test. Shape variation was assessed by principal component analysis. A mancova test between the first five principal components and age, using the CS as covariable, was applied. Results indicated that both size and shape vary significantly with age. Several age-related shape changes remained significant after removing the allometric effect. In general, an increase in the robustness of the bone and noticeable phenotypic changes in certain areas of the femur were observed. During growth in the proximal region of the femur, the collo-diaphyseal angle decreases, the neck of the femur widens and the fovea moves to a lower position, standing more in line with the plane of the neck. Likewise, the size of the greater and lesser trochanters increase. In the distal region, a significant increase of epiphyseal dimensions was recorded, mainly in the medial condyle. The angular remodelling of the neck and the bicondylar region of the femur in females continues until 13 years old. The information provided in the present study increases our knowledge on the timing and morphology of the femur during development, and in particular the morphology of the different femoral ossification centres during development.
在本研究中，我们通过几何形态测量学对高分辨率射线图像进行分析，描述了女性股骨的发育情况，同时评估了该方法在这类研究中的实用性。分析的材料包括来自西班牙巴塞罗那圣琼·德乌医院数据库的DICOM格式（遥测）数字图像，对应184例左股骨的正视图。分析的骨骼对应9至14岁的个体。通过22个二维地标对整个股骨的大小和形状变化进行量化。使用普氏方差分析测试评估地标数字化误差。通过方差分析测试评估质心大小（CS）随年龄的变化。通过主成分分析评估形状变化。应用以CS为协变量的前五个主成分与年龄之间的多变量协方差分析测试。结果表明，大小和形状均随年龄显著变化。去除异速生长效应后，一些与年龄相关的形状变化仍然显著。总体而言，观察到骨骼的坚固性增加以及股骨某些区域出现明显的表型变化。在股骨近端生长过程中，颈干角减小，股骨颈变宽，小凹移至较低位置，更与颈平面一致。同样，大转子和小转子的尺寸增加。在远端区域，记录到骨骺尺寸显著增加，主要在内侧髁。女性股骨颈和双髁区域的角度重塑持续到13岁。本研究提供的信息增加了我们对股骨发育过程中的时间和形态，特别是不同股骨骨化中心发育形态的认识。
