Fabella prevalence rate increases over 150 years, and rates of other sesamoid bones remain constant: a systematic review

Berthaume, Michael A.; Federico, Erica Di; Bull, Anthony M.J.

doi:10.1111/joa.12994

Cited by 41 publications

(60 citation statements)

References 94 publications

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“…Similar to the increase in the prevalence of persistent median arteries of the forearms, the prevalence of other anatomical features such as spina bifida occulta Solomon et al, 2009;Lee et al, 2010), tarsal coalitions (Solomon et al, 2003) and fabella (Berthaume et al, 2019) has increased over the last 2-3 centuries. Evidence indicates that changes in the natural selection pressures acting on these specific anatomical features could have caused microevolutionary processes, leading to the observed increases in prevalence rates (Henneberg and Henneberg 1999;Solomon et al, 2009;Lee et al, 2010;Rühli and Henneberg, 2013;Berthaume et al, 2019).…”

Section: Rodriguezmentioning

confidence: 85%

Recently increased prevalence of the human median artery of the forearm: A microevolutionary change

2020

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The median artery has been considered as an embryonic structure, which normally regresses around the 8th week of gestation. However, various prevalences have been reported in adults since the 18th century. Furthermore, in a study by Henneberg and George (1995; Am J Phys Anthropol 96, 329–334), has suggested that increasing prevalence of the median artery during the 20th century was a ‘possible secular trend’. The present study, conducted nearly a quarter of a century later, is a continuation of that study. A total of 26 median arteries were found in 78 upper limbs obtained from Australians aged 51 to 101 years, who died in the period 2015–2016, a prevalence rate of 33.3%. Analysis of the literature showed that the presence of the median artery has been significantly increasing (p = .001) over time, from approximately 10% in people born in the mid‐1880s to approximately 30% by the end of the 20th century. The significance of the prevalence increased to a p value <.0001, when the results of the present study and other studies conducted by our research team were combined. After removal of the studies that were possibly biased, because of their specific focus on the evolutionary aspects of the median artery, the significance remained at p = .018. The present study provides an example of microevolutionary changes in the internal anatomy of the human body. Second‐order polynomial regression of the median artery's prevalence on dates of birth shows that it is now present in 35% of people and predicts that people born 80 years from now will all carry a median artery if the trend continues. When the median artery prevalence reaches 50% or more, it should not be considered as a variant, but as a ‘normal’ human structure.

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Section: Rodriguezmentioning

confidence: 85%

Recently increased prevalence of the human median artery of the forearm: A microevolutionary change

2020

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“…A recent review (Berthaume et al, ) on the prevalence rate of the fabella in humans, revealed fascinating insights. They highlight that although the presence/absence of the fabella is due to a combination of genetic and environmental determinants, the increased prevalence rate recorded during the last 150 years is likely to be due to environmental factors.…”

Section: Sesamoids In Veterinary and Human Medicinementioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, the enormous amount of research published about them over more than a century tells another story. Sesamoids have been intensively studied in the context of clinical research, producing an extensive literature (Gruber, ; Pfitzner, ; Müller, ; Pires de Lima, ; Skillern, ; Bizarro, ; Gunn, ; Kewenter, ; Sindberg, ; Stener, ; Scapinelli, , , ; Ellis et al, ; Helal, ; Weiner & Macnab, ; Wood, ; Hansen & Peterson, ; Goldberg & Nathan, ; Le Minor, , , , ; McBryde Jr & Anderson, ; Gibeault et al, ; Bianchi et al, ; Lennox et al, ; Bareither, Muehleman & Feldman, ; Richardson, ; Duncan & Dahm, ; Mellado et al, ; Feller et al, ; Griffith et al, ; Bakerly & Saleh, ; Seki, Hoshino & Kuroda, ; Chen et al, ; Hauser et al, ; DeCamp & Schaefer, ; Tzatzairis et al, ; Vaz & Trippia, ; Yammine, ; Dalip, Iwanaga & Oskouian, ; Berthaume, Di Federico & Bull, , among many others). This represents an enormous and continued interest over time.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sesamoids in tetrapods: the origin of new skeletal morphologies

et al. 2019

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Along with supernumerary bones, sesamoids, defined as any organized intratendinous/intraligamentous structure, including those composed of fibrocartilage, adjacent to an articulation or joint, have been frequently considered as enigmatic structures associated with the joints of the skeletal system of vertebrates. This review allows us to propose a dynamic model to account for part of skeletal phenotypic diversity: during evolution, sesamoids can become displaced, attaching to and detaching from the long bone epiphyses and diaphysis. Epiphyses, apophyses and detached sesamoids are able to transform into each other, contributing to the phenotypic variability of the tetrapod skeleton. This dynamic model is a new paradigm to delineate the contribution of sesamoids to skeletal diversity. Herein, we first present a historical approach to the study of sesamoids, discussing the genetic versus epigenetic theories of their genesis and growth. Second, we construct a dynamic model. Third, we present a summary of literature on sesamoids of the main groups of tetrapods, including veterinary and human clinical contributions, which are the best-studied aspects of sesamoids in recent decades. Finally, we discuss the identity of certain structures that have been labelled as sesamoids despite insufficient formal testing of homology. We also propose a new definition to help the identification of sesamoids in general. This review is particularly timely, given the recent increasing interest and research activity into the developmental biology and mechanics of sesamoids. With this updated and integrative discussion, we hope to pave the way to improve the understanding of sesamoid biology and evolution.

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“…Sarin et al (1999) examined the incidence of two sesamoids (the fabella and os peroneum) in primates, finding intra-species variation in the occurrence of the former sesamoid (vs. quasi-constancy of the latter), and inferring a decline in its incidence along the primate stem lineage and then secondary increase in Homo. Berthaume et al (2019) then found remarkable increases in the ossification of the fabella over the past 150 years in human populations, attributing this to improved health and nutrition favouring larger body sizes and thus increased mechanical stimuli.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Peer Review #2 of "Evolution of the patella and patelloid in marsupial mammals (v0.2)"

Berthaume¹

2020

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The musculoskeletal system of marsupial mammals has numerous unusual features beyond the pouch and epipubic bones. One example is the widespread absence or reduction (to a fibrous "patelloid") of the patella ("kneecap") sesamoid bone, but prior studies with coarse sampling indicated complex patterns of evolution of this absence or reduction. Here, we conducted an in-depth investigation into the form of the patella of extant marsupial species and used the assembled dataset to reconstruct the likely pattern of evolution of the marsupial patella. Critical assessment of the available literature was followed by examination and imaging of museum specimens, as well as CT scanning and histological examination of dissected wet specimens. Our results, from sampling about 19% of extant marsupial species-level diversity, include new images and descriptions of the fibrocartilaginous patelloid in Thylacinus cynocephalus (the thylacine or "marsupial wolf") and other marsupials as well as the ossified patella in Notoryctes 'marsupial moles', Caenolestes shrew opossums, bandicoots and bilbies. We found novel evidence of an ossified patella in one specimen of Macropus rufogriseus (Bennett's wallaby), with hints of similar variation in other species. It remains uncertain whether such ossifications are ontogenetic variation, unusual individual variation, pathological or otherwise, but future studies must continue to be conscious of variation in metatherian patellar sesamoid morphology. Our evolutionary reconstructions using our assembled data vary, too, depending on the reconstruction algorithm used. A maximum likelihood algorithm favours ancestral fibrocartilaginous "patelloid" for crown clade Marsupialia and independent origins of ossified patellae in extinct sparassodonts, peramelids, notoryctids and caenolestids. A maximum parsimony algorithm favours ancestral ossified patella for the clade [Marsupialia + sparassodonts] and subsequent reductions into fibrocartilage in didelphids, dasyuromorphs and diprotodonts; but this result changed to agree more with the maximum likelihood results if the character state reconstructions were ordered. Thus, there is substantial homoplasy in marsupial patellae regardless of the evolutionary

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Fabella prevalence rate increases over 150 years, and rates of other sesamoid bones remain constant: a systematic review

Cited by 41 publications

References 94 publications

Recently increased prevalence of the human median artery of the forearm: A microevolutionary change

Recently increased prevalence of the human median artery of the forearm: A microevolutionary change

Sesamoids in tetrapods: the origin of new skeletal morphologies

Peer Review #2 of "Evolution of the patella and patelloid in marsupial mammals (v0.2)"

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