Investigating ecogeographic variation in superior and functional ethmoidal breadth in internal nasal dimensions
Superior Ethmoidal Breadth (SEB = the maximum breadth between the left and right frontoethmoidal sutures) has been widely employed by anthropologists as a proxy for internal nasal airway dimensions since it is easily measured without imaging. SEB is also commonly argued to evince climatic adaption i...
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ftbostonuniv:oai:open.bu.edu:2144/43384 2023-05-15T14:56:36+02:00 Investigating ecogeographic variation in superior and functional ethmoidal breadth in internal nasal dimensions Grace, Caroline Reid Tallman, Sean D. Maddux, Scott D. 2021-11-18T02:02:42Z https://hdl.handle.net/2144/43384 en_US eng https://hdl.handle.net/2144/43384 orcid:0000-0001-5894-1119 Biology Anthropology Climatic adaptation Human variation Nasal anatomy Osteology Upper respiratory tract Thesis/Dissertation 2021 ftbostonuniv 2022-07-11T12:16:34Z Superior Ethmoidal Breadth (SEB = the maximum breadth between the left and right frontoethmoidal sutures) has been widely employed by anthropologists as a proxy for internal nasal airway dimensions since it is easily measured without imaging. SEB is also commonly argued to evince climatic adaption in modern humans, as populations living in cold-dry environments predictably exhibit narrower SEB dimensions than those inhabiting tropical environments. However, given uncertaintiy regarding its relationship with internal nasal anatomy, the accuracy of SEB as a proxy for airway dimensions remains questionable. Here, I evaluate the correlation between SEB and internal airway dimensions using linear measurements collected on CT scans from a mixed-sex sample of human crania (n=215) ancestrally derived from sub-Saharan Africa, the Arctic Circle, East Asia, and Europe. My results demonstrate that SEB is often located superior to the anatomcial roof of the nasal passages but is highly correlated (R= 0.8119, p<0.0001) with ethmoidal breadth taken at the functional level of the upper airways (i.e., functional airway breadth [FEB]). ANOVA results indicate, in addition to significant differences in SEB (χ2 = 82.20, p<0.0001), regional differences also exist for FEB (χ2 = 54.21, p<0.0001) and its components: the combined superior and superior common meatal breadths (χ2 = 19.03, p< 0.0001) and ethmoid air cell (EAC) breadth (χ2 = 27.67, p<0.0001). Further, following theoretrical expecations, the African-derived sample generally exhibits the widest internal nasal dimensions and the Arctic-derived sample the narrowest. Specifically, the Arctic sample exhibits significantly narrower airway breadths compared to all other groups. Conversely, the African sample possesses significantly wider EAC breadths comapred to all other groups. Cumulatively, these results empirically support use of SEB as proxy for upper nasal airway breadth and bolster claims that clinal variation in internal airway dimensions across human ... Thesis Arctic Boston University: OpenBU Arctic |
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Open Polar |
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Boston University: OpenBU |
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ftbostonuniv |
language |
English |
topic |
Biology Anthropology Climatic adaptation Human variation Nasal anatomy Osteology Upper respiratory tract |
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Biology Anthropology Climatic adaptation Human variation Nasal anatomy Osteology Upper respiratory tract Grace, Caroline Reid Investigating ecogeographic variation in superior and functional ethmoidal breadth in internal nasal dimensions |
topic_facet |
Biology Anthropology Climatic adaptation Human variation Nasal anatomy Osteology Upper respiratory tract |
description |
Superior Ethmoidal Breadth (SEB = the maximum breadth between the left and right frontoethmoidal sutures) has been widely employed by anthropologists as a proxy for internal nasal airway dimensions since it is easily measured without imaging. SEB is also commonly argued to evince climatic adaption in modern humans, as populations living in cold-dry environments predictably exhibit narrower SEB dimensions than those inhabiting tropical environments. However, given uncertaintiy regarding its relationship with internal nasal anatomy, the accuracy of SEB as a proxy for airway dimensions remains questionable. Here, I evaluate the correlation between SEB and internal airway dimensions using linear measurements collected on CT scans from a mixed-sex sample of human crania (n=215) ancestrally derived from sub-Saharan Africa, the Arctic Circle, East Asia, and Europe. My results demonstrate that SEB is often located superior to the anatomcial roof of the nasal passages but is highly correlated (R= 0.8119, p<0.0001) with ethmoidal breadth taken at the functional level of the upper airways (i.e., functional airway breadth [FEB]). ANOVA results indicate, in addition to significant differences in SEB (χ2 = 82.20, p<0.0001), regional differences also exist for FEB (χ2 = 54.21, p<0.0001) and its components: the combined superior and superior common meatal breadths (χ2 = 19.03, p< 0.0001) and ethmoid air cell (EAC) breadth (χ2 = 27.67, p<0.0001). Further, following theoretrical expecations, the African-derived sample generally exhibits the widest internal nasal dimensions and the Arctic-derived sample the narrowest. Specifically, the Arctic sample exhibits significantly narrower airway breadths compared to all other groups. Conversely, the African sample possesses significantly wider EAC breadths comapred to all other groups. Cumulatively, these results empirically support use of SEB as proxy for upper nasal airway breadth and bolster claims that clinal variation in internal airway dimensions across human ... |
author2 |
Tallman, Sean D. Maddux, Scott D. |
format |
Thesis |
author |
Grace, Caroline Reid |
author_facet |
Grace, Caroline Reid |
author_sort |
Grace, Caroline Reid |
title |
Investigating ecogeographic variation in superior and functional ethmoidal breadth in internal nasal dimensions |
title_short |
Investigating ecogeographic variation in superior and functional ethmoidal breadth in internal nasal dimensions |
title_full |
Investigating ecogeographic variation in superior and functional ethmoidal breadth in internal nasal dimensions |
title_fullStr |
Investigating ecogeographic variation in superior and functional ethmoidal breadth in internal nasal dimensions |
title_full_unstemmed |
Investigating ecogeographic variation in superior and functional ethmoidal breadth in internal nasal dimensions |
title_sort |
investigating ecogeographic variation in superior and functional ethmoidal breadth in internal nasal dimensions |
publishDate |
2021 |
url |
https://hdl.handle.net/2144/43384 |
geographic |
Arctic |
geographic_facet |
Arctic |
genre |
Arctic |
genre_facet |
Arctic |
op_relation |
https://hdl.handle.net/2144/43384 orcid:0000-0001-5894-1119 |
_version_ |
1766328684710461440 |