Exploring the relationship between soft and hard tissues : The example of vertebral arteries and transverse foramina
De Jager, Edwin (University of Cambridge. Department of Archaeology)
Prigge, Lané (Sefako Makgatho Health Sciences University. Department of Anatomy)
Amod, Nooreen (Dr George Mukhari Academic Hospital. Department of Radiology)
Oettle, Anna (Sefako Makgatho Health Sciences University. Department of Anatomy)
Beaudet, Amélie (Institut Català de Paleontologia Miquel Crusafont)

Date:	2022
Abstract:	Understanding how the brain is provided with glucose and oxygen is of particular interest in human evolutionary studies. In addition to the internal carotid arteries, vertebral arteries contribute significantly to the cerebral and cerebellar blood flow. The size of the transverse foramina has been suggested to represent a reliable proxy for assessing the size of the vertebral arteries in fossil specimens. To test this assumption, here, we statistically explore spatial relationships between the transverse foramina and the vertebral arteries in extant humans. Contrast computed tomography (CT) scans of the cervical regions of 16 living humans were collected. Cross-sectional areas of the right and left transverse foramina and the corresponding vertebral arteries were measured on each cervical vertebra from C1 to C6 within the same individuals. The cross-sectional areas of the foramina and corresponding arteries range between 13. 40 and 71. 25 mm2 and between 4. 53 and 29. 40 mm2, respectively. The two variables are significantly correlated except in C1. Using regression analyses, we generate equations that can be subsequently used to estimate the size of the vertebral arteries in fossil specimens. By providing additional evidence of intra- and inter-individual size variation of the arteries and corresponding foramina in extant humans, our study introduces an essential database for a better understanding of the evolutionary story of soft tissues in the fossil record.
Rights:	Aquest document està subjecte a una llicència d'ús Creative Commons. Es permet la reproducció total o parcial, la distribució, la comunicació pública de l'obra i la creació d'obres derivades, sempre que no sigui amb finalitats comercials, i sempre que es reconegui l'autoria de l'obra original.
Language:	Anglès
Document:	Article ; recerca ; Versió publicada
Subject:	Blood flow ; Brain perfusion ; Cervical vertebrae ; CT scans ; Metabolism
Published in:	Journal of Anatomy, (April 2022) , ISSN 1469-7580

DOI: 10.1111/joa.13681
PMID: 35468222

6 p, 894.0 KB

The record appears in these collections:
Research literature > UAB research groups literature > Research Centres and Groups (research output) > Experimental sciences > Institut Català de Paleontologia Miquel Crusafont (ICP)
Articles > Research articles
Articles > Published articles