Late subadult ontogeny and adult aging of the human thorax reveals divergent growth trajectories between sexes

Daniel García-Martínez, Markus Bastir, Chiara Villa, Francisco García-Río, Isabel Torres-Sánchez, Wolfgang Recheis, Alon Barash, Roman Hossein Khonsari, Paul O’Higgins, Marc R. Meyer, Yann Heuzé

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Sexual dimorphism is an important feature of adult thorax morphology, but when and how sex-related differences in the ribcage arise during ontogeny is poorly known. Previous research proposed that sex-related size differences in the nasal region arise during puberty. Therefore, we explore whether ribcage sexual dimorphism also arises at that time and whether this sexual dimorphism is maintained until old age. We measured 526 (semi)landmarks on 80 CT-based human ribcage reconstructions, on individuals ranging from 7 to 65 year-old. The 3D coordinates were submitted to the Procrustes superimposition and analyzed. Our results show that the trajectories of thorax size and shape between sexes diverge at around 12 years of age, and continue slightly diverging until old age. The differential ontogenetic trends cause adult male ribcages to become deeper, shorter, and wider than female. Our results are consistent with the evidence from the cranial respiratory system, with the development of sexual dimorphism probably related to changes in body composition during puberty combined with changes in the reproductive system.

Original languageEnglish
Article number10737
JournalScientific Reports
Volume10
Issue number1
DOIs
StatePublished - 1 Jul 2020

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • General

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