Premium
Three‐dimensional analysis of sexual dimorphism in the soft tissue morphology of the upper airways in a human population
Author(s) -
Bastir Markus,
Megía Irene,
TorresTamayo Nicole,
GarcíaMartínez Daniel,
Piqueras Francisco M.,
Burgos Manuel
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
american journal of physical anthropology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.146
H-Index - 119
eISSN - 1096-8644
pISSN - 0002-9483
DOI - 10.1002/ajpa.23944
Subject(s) - sexual dimorphism , morphology (biology) , anatomy , biology , airway , respiratory system , population , zoology , medicine , surgery , environmental health
Objectives Several studies have analyzed the sexual dimorphism of the skeletal cranial airways. This study aimed to quantify the three‐dimensional (3D) morphology of the soft tissues of the upper airways in a human population. We addressed hypotheses about morphological features related to respiratory and energetic aspects of nasal sexual dimorphism. Methods We reconstructed 3D models of 41 male and female soft tissue nasal airways from computed tomography data. We measured 280 landmarks and semilandmarks for 3D‐geometric morphometric analyses to test for differences in size and 3D morphology of different functional compartments of the soft tissue airways. Results We found statistical evidence for sexual dimorphism: Males were larger than females. 3D features indicated taller and wider inflow tracts, taller outflow tracts and slightly taller internal airways in males. These characteristics are compatible with greater airflow in males. Discussion The differences in 3D nasal airway morphology are compatible with the respiratory‐energetics hypothesis according to which males differ from females because of greater energetic demands. Accordingly, structures related to inflow and outflow of air show stronger signals than structures relevant for air‐conditioning.