Climatic adaptation in human inferior nasal turbinate morphology: Evidence from Arctic and equatorial populations
Abstract Objectives The nasal turbinates directly influence the overall size, shape, and surface area of the nasal passages, and thus contribute to intranasal heat and moisture exchange. However, unlike the encapsulating walls of the nasal cavity, ecogeographic variation in nasal turbinate morpholog...
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crwiley:10.1002/ajpa.23840 2024-06-23T07:49:58+00:00 Climatic adaptation in human inferior nasal turbinate morphology: Evidence from Arctic and equatorial populations Marks, Tarah N. Maddux, Scott D. Butaric, Lauren N. Franciscus, Robert G. 2019 http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/ajpa.23840 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1002/ajpa.23840 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full-xml/10.1002/ajpa.23840 en eng Wiley http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/termsAndConditions#vor American Journal of Physical Anthropology volume 169, issue 3, page 498-512 ISSN 0002-9483 1096-8644 journal-article 2019 crwiley https://doi.org/10.1002/ajpa.23840 2024-06-11T04:45:38Z Abstract Objectives The nasal turbinates directly influence the overall size, shape, and surface area of the nasal passages, and thus contribute to intranasal heat and moisture exchange. However, unlike the encapsulating walls of the nasal cavity, ecogeographic variation in nasal turbinate morphology among humans has not yet been established. Here we investigate variation in inferior nasal turbinate morphology in two populations from climatically extreme environments. Materials and methods Twenty‐three linear measurements of the inferior turbinate, nasal cavity walls, and airway passages were collected from CT scans of indigenous modern human crania from Equatorial Africa ( n = 35) and the Arctic Circle ( n = 35). MANOVA and ANCOVA were employed to test for predicted regional and sex differences in morphology between the samples. Results Significant morphological differences were identified between the two regional samples, with no evidence of significant sexual dimorphism or region‐sex interaction effect. Individuals from the Arctic Circle possessed superoinferiorly and mediolaterally larger inferior turbinates compared to Equatorial Africans. In conjunction with the surrounding nasal cavity walls, these differences in turbinate morphology produced airway dimensions that were both consistent with functional expectations and more regionally distinct than either skeletal component independently. Conclusion This study documents the existence of ecogeographic variation in human nasal turbinate morphology reflecting climate‐mediated evolutionary demands on intranasal heat and moisture exchange. Humans adapted to cold‐dry environments exhibit turbinate morphologies that enhance contact between respired air and nasal mucosa to facilitate respiratory air conditioning. Conversely, humans adapted to hot‐humid environments exhibit turbinate morphologies that minimize air‐to‐mucosa contact, likely to minimize airflow resistance and/or facilitate expiratory heat‐shedding. Article in Journal/Newspaper Arctic Wiley Online Library Arctic American Journal of Physical Anthropology 169 3 498 512 |
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English |
description |
Abstract Objectives The nasal turbinates directly influence the overall size, shape, and surface area of the nasal passages, and thus contribute to intranasal heat and moisture exchange. However, unlike the encapsulating walls of the nasal cavity, ecogeographic variation in nasal turbinate morphology among humans has not yet been established. Here we investigate variation in inferior nasal turbinate morphology in two populations from climatically extreme environments. Materials and methods Twenty‐three linear measurements of the inferior turbinate, nasal cavity walls, and airway passages were collected from CT scans of indigenous modern human crania from Equatorial Africa ( n = 35) and the Arctic Circle ( n = 35). MANOVA and ANCOVA were employed to test for predicted regional and sex differences in morphology between the samples. Results Significant morphological differences were identified between the two regional samples, with no evidence of significant sexual dimorphism or region‐sex interaction effect. Individuals from the Arctic Circle possessed superoinferiorly and mediolaterally larger inferior turbinates compared to Equatorial Africans. In conjunction with the surrounding nasal cavity walls, these differences in turbinate morphology produced airway dimensions that were both consistent with functional expectations and more regionally distinct than either skeletal component independently. Conclusion This study documents the existence of ecogeographic variation in human nasal turbinate morphology reflecting climate‐mediated evolutionary demands on intranasal heat and moisture exchange. Humans adapted to cold‐dry environments exhibit turbinate morphologies that enhance contact between respired air and nasal mucosa to facilitate respiratory air conditioning. Conversely, humans adapted to hot‐humid environments exhibit turbinate morphologies that minimize air‐to‐mucosa contact, likely to minimize airflow resistance and/or facilitate expiratory heat‐shedding. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Marks, Tarah N. Maddux, Scott D. Butaric, Lauren N. Franciscus, Robert G. |
spellingShingle |
Marks, Tarah N. Maddux, Scott D. Butaric, Lauren N. Franciscus, Robert G. Climatic adaptation in human inferior nasal turbinate morphology: Evidence from Arctic and equatorial populations |
author_facet |
Marks, Tarah N. Maddux, Scott D. Butaric, Lauren N. Franciscus, Robert G. |
author_sort |
Marks, Tarah N. |
title |
Climatic adaptation in human inferior nasal turbinate morphology: Evidence from Arctic and equatorial populations |
title_short |
Climatic adaptation in human inferior nasal turbinate morphology: Evidence from Arctic and equatorial populations |
title_full |
Climatic adaptation in human inferior nasal turbinate morphology: Evidence from Arctic and equatorial populations |
title_fullStr |
Climatic adaptation in human inferior nasal turbinate morphology: Evidence from Arctic and equatorial populations |
title_full_unstemmed |
Climatic adaptation in human inferior nasal turbinate morphology: Evidence from Arctic and equatorial populations |
title_sort |
climatic adaptation in human inferior nasal turbinate morphology: evidence from arctic and equatorial populations |
publisher |
Wiley |
publishDate |
2019 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/ajpa.23840 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1002/ajpa.23840 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full-xml/10.1002/ajpa.23840 |
geographic |
Arctic |
geographic_facet |
Arctic |
genre |
Arctic |
genre_facet |
Arctic |
op_source |
American Journal of Physical Anthropology volume 169, issue 3, page 498-512 ISSN 0002-9483 1096-8644 |
op_rights |
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/termsAndConditions#vor |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1002/ajpa.23840 |
container_title |
American Journal of Physical Anthropology |
container_volume |
169 |
container_issue |
3 |
container_start_page |
498 |
op_container_end_page |
512 |
_version_ |
1802640701024894976 |