Mantini, Simone

Marchi, Damiano

Ripani, Maurizio

Tacchia, Costanza

Firenze University Press: E-Journals

IJAE Vol. 115, n. 1/2 (Supplement), 2010
102
Application of geometric morphometrics and  
cross-sectional geometry to the study of the  
morpho-functional dynamics of the femur:  
a preliminary analysis
Simone Mantini1, Damiano Marchi2, Costanza Tacchia1 and Maurizio Ripani2
1 Dipartimento di Scienze della Salute, Università degli Studi di Roma Foro Italico, Italy
2 Department of Evolutionary Anthropology, Duke University, USA
One of the main goals of the study of posture and biomechanics is to understand 
the relationships between the structural organization and the functional dynamics of 
the anatomical elements which compose the body. The structure morphology of bones 
is closely associated to their function, but, a consensus on the correlation between bone 
structure and function has not yet been achieved. The aim of this study is to provide for 
the first an integrative approach to the study of bone structure. We propose to integrate 
the study of shape of the bone (i.e., the geometric morphometrics approach) with the 
study of biomechanics of the bone (i.e., the cross-sectional geometry approach) to un-
derstand the morpho-functional variation of the femur. The geometric morphometrics 
analysis allows to quantify the geometric variation of the anatomical structures by using 
Cartesian coordinates. The cross-sectional geometric analysis, based on the geometric 
distribution of bone in a cross-section, provides information on the direction and mag-
nitude of the forces to which the bone is subjected during postural dynamics. The analy-
sis was computed on a sample of CT-scan cross-section of the femur at midshaft. This 
analysis shows that the direction of the major load at this level is correlated with antero-
lateral and postero-medial variations of the section, in agreement with the mechanical 
loading of the femur at midshaft. Because of the small sample size these results should 
be considered as preliminary. However, they provide the first morpho-functional char-
acterization of the femur and represent a useful starting point for future investigations.
Key words
Cross-sectional geometry, geometric morphometric, posture, femur


Application of geometric morphometrics and cross-sectional geometry to the study of the morpho-functional dynamics of the femur: a preliminary analysis

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Application of geometric morphometrics and cross-sectional geometry to the study of the morpho-functional dynamics of the femur: a preliminary analysis

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