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Tracking the anatomical acromion pattern following Bigliani’s classification: A contrast between two distinct human population groups
Author(s) -
Happes Michael,
Jeffers Devon,
Wong Jessica,
Mowbray Ken,
Márquez Samuel
Publication year - 2006
Publication title -
the faseb journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.709
H-Index - 277
eISSN - 1530-6860
pISSN - 0892-6638
DOI - 10.1096/fasebj.20.4.a444-a
Subject(s) - acromion , cadaveric spasm , crania , population , cadaver , rotator cuff , anatomy , medicine , environmental health
The anatomical shape of the acromion (AC) has clinicopathological implications in impingement syndrome and rotator cuff tearing due to the subacromial space, which is subjected to biomechanical stress. An ongoing debate persists as to whether the different AC shapes are innate or are acquired over time by life history variables. Previous studies on scapulae morphology led Bigliani et al. 1986 to classify different AC morphology based on a small sample of cadavers. This study compares AC anatomy between two distinct groups: a cadaveric sample of contemporary mixed‐American populations and an archaeological sample representing pre‐European contact Ipiutak (500 BCE – 500 CE) and Tigara (1300 – 1700 CE) Inuit populations. Anthropometric data was collected on 217 scapulae from SUNY Downstate College of Medicine (cadavers n=176) and the American Museum of Natural History (archaeological n=41). Classification of flat (Type I), curved (Type II), and hooked (Type III) shapes were assessed via digital photographic data analysis using the imageJ NIH software. Of the 176 AC studied, 23.9 percent were flat, 39.2 percent were curved, and 39.9 percent were hooked. These results are consistent with Bigliani et al. 1986. Data from Inuit populations, however, are comparatively variable to the 1986 study. Of the 41 Inuit scapulae, 10.0 percent were flat, 55.0 percent were curved, and 35.0 percent were hooked. Based on these results, this study infers that lifeways are a primary contributing source in acromion morphology and it is not necessarily congenital.