The sphenoidal synchondroses: Implications for the midfacial growth of anthropoid primates

Title

The sphenoidal synchondroses: Implications for the midfacial growth of anthropoid primates

Creator

Wood B;Mano N;Oladipupo L;Corbin Hayley;Vinyard CJ;DeLeon VB;Smith T

Publisher

Faseb Journal

Date

2020
2020-04

Description

The basicranium of anthropoid primates is more flexed than in lemurs and lorises (strepsirrhines), which has implications for orientation of facial growth. Differential growth among cranial synchondroses is one suggested mechanism for variation in basicranial development. In this study, we measured length of bony elements of the cranial base using Amira software in a cross‐sectional age sample (late prenatal to juvenile), which included three monkey species and four species of lemurs and bushbabies (n = 59). In addition, we made preliminary measurements of the anteroposterior length of the spheno‐occipital synchondrosis (SOS), intrasphenoidal synchondrosis (ISS), and prespheno‐septal synchondrosis (PSept) using newborn samples. In order to assess differences in growth potential among sync hondroses, the diameter of the proliferating (PZ) or hypertrophic (HZ) zones were also measured. Our other work has indicated that measurements of ossified elements of the cranial base reveal disproportionately more growth of presphenoid (PS) relatively to basisphenoid (BS) in monkeys. But in strepsirrhines, these bones scale similarly to one another when plotted against increasing cranial or midfacial length. When expressed as a ratio of the length of the PZ or HZ to total anteroposterior diameter of the synchondrosis, growth is relatively similar in ISS and SOS among all species studied. However, in anthropoids the length of the PZ in PSept is notably (more than two‐fold) greater than in any other synchondrosis. In strepsirrhines, length of the PZ in PSept is relatively similar to the same zone of other synchondroses. This suggests that the rapid increase in length of the presphenoid in anthropoids is mostly occurring anteriorly, at the midfacial interface. These results, taken at face value, might suggest that anthropoids have a greater magnitude of growth in the septal cartilage compared to strepsirrhines. However, our previous work established that growth at PSept in more multidirectional (radial) than in most other mammals. Instead, our findings emphasize different patterns of sphenoid growth among primates, and offer a tissue‐level explanation for the relatively large PS segment in anthropoid primates. In addition, these findings indicate suggest that growth of the sphenoid is more highly integrated with PS than BS and more interdependent with facial growth in monkeys than in strepsirrhine primates.

Rights

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Format

journalArticle

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Issue

S1

Volume

34

ISSN

0892-6638

NEOMED College

NEOMED College of Medicine

NEOMED Department

Department of Anatomy & Neurobiology

Update Year & Number

September 2020 List

Citation

Wood B;Mano N;Oladipupo L;Corbin Hayley;Vinyard CJ;DeLeon VB;Smith T, “The sphenoidal synchondroses: Implications for the midfacial growth of anthropoid primates,” NEOMED Bibliography Database, accessed March 28, 2024, https://neomed.omeka.net/items/show/11320.