Download ANT 3514 – Introduction to Biological Anthropology

ANT 3514 – Introduction to Biological Anthropology
Human Osteology
LAB 5, Week of 2/7/05
NOTE: Some of the following questions may require you to look up the answers at home
using a textbook or an osteology website.
STATION 1: Skull
The skull (cranium and mandible) plays an important role in physical anthropology in
terms of determining age, sex, race, and understanding evolutionary history.
Name the three sutures marked with dots.
Name the three cranial bones at this station.
1._________________________
2._________________________
3._________________________
A.________________________
B.________________________
C.________________________
b). In front of you are three cranial fragments. Using the diagrams and the complete
cranium identify these fragments.
1.__________________
2.___________________
3. ______________________
STATION 2: Vertebral Column
Examine the vertebral column. The cervical, thoracic and lumbar vertebrae are
movable. Meanwhile the sacrum and coccyx are fused vertebrae. They are part of the
bony pelvis.
a). In addition to being called the 1st and 2nd cervical vertebrae, these bones are also given
specific names. What are they?
b). Of the 3 aforementioned types of movable vertebrae, which type lies right above the
bony pelvis?
STATION 3: Thorax (Sternum and Ribs)
The thorax, or chest, is a cage-like structure made up of bone and cartilage. The
sternum (breast bone) and 12 pairs of ribs make up the bony component. The thorax
protects the heart and lungs and assists in breathing.
What do the ribs attach to on the back of the body? _________________
What do the ribs attach to on the front of the body? __________________
Which pairs of ribs are interconnected medially by common cartilages that attach to the
sternum?
_________________
The sternum anchors the shoulder girdle to the thorax. What 2 bones make up the
shoulder girdle?
____________________
_____________________
STATION 4: Pelvis
The human pelvis is composed of 3 bones; the os coxae (left and right), sacrum,
and coccyx. The pelvis serves to protect and support abdominal organs as well as anchor
abdominal and leg muscles. In a forensic and paleontology context, these bones provide
valuable information in determining sex.
a). Which bones of the pelvis are fused vertebrae?
_____________________
____________________
b). Compare the os coxa specimen provided with the male and female pelvises shown in
the diagram. Is the anatomical specimen male or female? Justify your answer.
STATION 5: Upper Limb
Three bones make up the upper limb: the humerus, radius, and ulna.
Look at the anatomical specimen when answering the following questions.
a). Which bone of the lower arm is on the same side as your pinkie? ___________
b). Which bone of the lower arm is on the same side as your thumb? ___________
c). Which bones form the elbow joint?
___________
_____________
(i.e., Which 2 bones allow you to bend the elbow?)
STATION 6: Lower Limb
The bones of the leg are the femur, tibia and fibula. As the longest, strongest, and
heaviest bone in the skeleton the femur provides valuable information about an
individual’s stature.
a). The fibula is on what side of the body (i.e., medial or lateral)? ________________
b). Examine the femur. Now, using the osteometric board in front of you determine the
maximum length of the femur and enter it into the different stature equations in the table.
Maximum femur length __________cm
Stature Formulae for the Femur (Male)
Racial Group
Equation in cm
Stature
(in cm)
±
Converted
stature (inches)
±
Caucasian
2.32(femur length) + 65.53 ± 3.94=
African
2.10(femur length) + 72.22 ± 3.91=
±
±
Asian
2.15(femur length) + 72.57 ± 3.80=
±
±
The above equations will give you answers in centimeters. You will need to convert your
values into inches (1 cm = 0.3937 in) to complete the final column.
The following website will assist you:
http://www.sciencemadesimple.net/conversions.html
Notice how the same length femur results in different statures for different racial groups.
STATION 7: Pathology
Examining bone pathology (disease) can provide insight into an individual’s life and
death. Read the following descriptions of different pathologies and match them with
their respective bones.
Osteoarthritis – this common form of arthritis causes destruction of the cartilage at a joint and formation
of bone spurs and lipping around the edges of the joint. The disease occurs mostly in load-bearing joints
especially in the spine, hips and knees.
Fracture with Callus – Following a fracture, the bone repair process forms a callus around the fracture site
made up of new bone cells. If the bone is not set properly the callus can become quite large. This happens
because the bone is trying to create a shape that allows function to be maintained.
Periodontitis – this arises from a tissue infection which, when untreated, spreads to the surrounding bone.
This results in a porous depression in the bone and is characterized by progressive loss of bone and soft
tissue that surround and support teeth.
Match Bone with Disease
Osteoarthritis ____
Fracture w/ Callus ____
Periodontitis _____
STATION 8: Human vs Nonhuman
The first step in any skeletal analysis is determining whether a bone is human or
nonhuman.
a). Of the bones presented, which 2 are human?
_________
Extra Credit
Which bone do you think belongs to a marine animal?
____________
_________
Reading Questions:
1.What is a recent argument regarding nonhuman primates and how they learn behaviors?
(see Ch. 19)
2. How did the researchers determine Lucy's sex and body size from her remains? (see
Ch. 1)
3. Osteological Diagram: Identify the following bones.
ANT 3514 – Introduction to Biological Anthropology
The Human Osteology Handout
LAB 5, Week of 2/7/05
The average adult human skeleton has 206 bones. Fetal and subadult skeletons have more than
300 bones, due to the fact that individual bones are in separate parts during growth and
development. Over time these parts fuse to become a single bone.
Standard anatomical position – refers to the position when an individual stands in a normal
upright posture with the palms of the hands facing forward. This ensures that no two bones are
crossed including the radius and the ulna.
Directional Terms
anterior – toward the front (toward the belly in humans)
posterior – toward the back (toward the back of the body in humans)
superior – toward the top (toward the head in humans)
inferior – toward the bottom (toward the feet)
medial – toward the midline
lateral – away from the midline
proximal - toward the body
distal – away from the body
AXIAL SKELETON – all bones that provide the principal supportive structure of the skeleton,
including: skull, vertebrae, ribs, sternum, sacrum
Cranial bones – frontal, parietal (2), temporal (2), zygomatic (2), nasal (2), ethmoid, occipital,
sphenoid, maxilla, and mandible
Vertebrae – cervical (7), thoracic (12), lumbar (5), sacrum, and coccyx
Cranial sutures – coronal, sagittal, lambdoidal and squamosal
APPENDICULAR SKELETON – all bones that provide movement primarily with the limbs,
including the bones of the pectoral and pelvic girdle, the arms, wrists and hands, and the legs,
ankles and feet.
Shoulder Girdle – scapula, clavicle
Arm, Wrist and Hand Bones – humerus, radius, ulna, carpals, metacarpals, phalanges
Leg, Ankle, and Feet Bones – femur, patella, tibia, fibula, tarsals, metatarsals, phalanges
Pelvic Girdle – os coxae (made up of three bones: ilium, pubis, ischium)
Ribs (12)
from White, TD. Human Osteology. 1991.