Morphological Characteristics of Healthy and Osteoarthritic Joint Surfaces in Archaeological Skeletons

Abstract

Use policyThe full-text may be used and/or reproduced, and given to third parties in any format or medium, without prior permission or charge, for personal research or study, educational, or not-for-prot purposes provided that:• a full bibliographic reference is made to the original source • a link is made to the metadata record in DRO • the full-text is not changed in any way The full-text must not be sold in any format or medium without the formal permission of the copyright holders.Please consult the full DRO policy for further details. Keywords: geometric morphometrics, eburnation, osteophytes, shape analysis Abstract:Osteoarthritis is a major health concern in living populations, as well as being one of the most common pathological lesions identified in the archaeological record. The aetiology of the disease remains unclear, with a multi-factorial influence of physical strain, age, genetics, and obesity. Previous studies have identified a relationship between the presence of knee osteoarthritis on the distal femoral joint and the morphology of the intercondylar notch, patellar groove, and medial condyle. The current study expands this research to investigate the relationship between distal femoral, distal humeral, and proximal ulnar joint morphology and osteoarthritis with 3D shape analysis techniques. These methods provide a more detailed analysis of joint morphology in order to determine any relationship between 3D shape and osteoarthritis.The results indicate a complex relationship between joint shape and knee osteoarthritis, with eburnated right femora showing a statistically significant association. The shapes associated with eburnated or affected femoral joints can be explained by osteophyte development, and therefore likely represent systematic shape changes and not a particular joint shape predisposing individuals to the condition. There was no identifiable relationship found in the proximal ulna or distal humerus, indicating that joint shape is unlikely to influence the development of the condition in the elbow joint, and that any shape changes produced by osteoarthritis are not systematic or quantifiable. The joints analysed in this study were highly influenced by asymmetry, sexual dimorphism, and allometry, resulting in a small sample size of affected joints in many datasets. Further analyses of large skeletal samples are needed to more thoroughly investigate the possible relationship of distal femoral joint shape and osteoarthritis.Introduction:

Effects of osteoarthritis on age‐at‐death estimates from the human pelvis

“…As other studies (Plomp, Roberts, & Strand Viðarsdόttir, ; Weiss, ) have also reported a correlation between OA and chronological age, we might expect degenerative qualities to progress linearly, with the oldest persons with advanced OA expression being aged accurately using any one of the os coxa methods applied at a single joint surface. But joint changes of OA are a function of both the natural aging process and of the mechanical stress response to loading.…”

Degenerative changes in the appendicular joints of ancient human populations from the Japan Islands

“…Because the above risk factors for degenerative joint diseases enable us to reconstruct prehistoric life activities, many bioarchaeologists have investigated the degenerative changes of joints from ancient human populations (Jurmain, 1980, Merbs, 1983, Fukushima, 1988, Bridges, 1991, Lovell, 1994, Lieverse et al, 2007, Schrader, 2012, Woo and Sciulli, 2013, Plomp et al, 2013, Palmer et al, 2014. As the aforementioned studies show, many systematic factors, especially age, can affect the incidence of degenerative joint changes.…”

A Bayesian Approach to Age‐at‐Death Estimation from Osteoarthritis of the Shoulder in Modern North Americans

“…This analytical limitation has led to the development of aging methodologies examining degenerative changes within the skeleton . Degenerative changes are associated with chronological age and tend to be progressive .…”

“…The osteoarthritic changes associated with age processes, namely natural cartilage degradation at the cellular level , increase the likelihood of developing the macroscopic, reactive changes commonly associated with the presence of OA. These include the proliferation of osteophyte growth along the joint margin and surface, the appearance of porosity on the joint surface, changes in bone contour, with the bone becoming wider and flatter in appearance, and the creation of eburnation, which presents as a highly polished, sometimes grooved area on the bone surface resulting from prolonged bone‐on‐bone contact . The additional risk factors for OA, which include biomechanical/occupational stress , trauma , genetics , and excessive bodyweight , play a fundamental role in the locational expression and severity of the macroscopic disease markers within skeletal joints .…”