title: An approach to the histomorphological and histochemical variations of the humerus cortical bone through human ontogeny.
abstract: For many years, clinical and non-clinical investigations have investigated cortical bone structure in an attempt to address questions related to normal bone development, mineralisation, pathologies and even evolutionary trends in our lineage (adaptations). Research in the fields of medicine, materials science, physical anthropology, palaeontology, and even archaeobiology has contributed interesting data. However, many questions remain regarding the histomorphological and histochemical variations in human cortical bone during different stages of life. In the present work, we describe a study of long bone cortex transformations during ontogeny. We analysed cross-sections of 15 human humeri histomorphologically and histochemically from perinatal to adult age, marking and quantifying the spatial distribution of bone tissue types using GIS software and analysing the mineral composition and crystallinity of the mineralised cortex using Raman spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction. Our results allowed us to propose that human cortical bone undergoes three main 'events' through ontogeny that critically change the proportions and structure of the cortex. In early development, bone is not well mineralised and proportionally presents a wide cortex that narrows through the end of childhood. Before reaching complete maturity, the bone mineral area increases, allowing the bone to nearly reach the adult size. The medullary cavity is reduced, and the mineral areas have a highly ordered crystalline structure. The last event occurs in adulthood, when the 'oldest' individuals present a reduced mineralised area, with increasing non-mineralised cavities (including the medullary cavity) and reduced crystalline organisation.
authors.affiliation: Laboratorio de Poblaciones del Pasado (LAPP), Departamento de Biología, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: Oscar
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Cambra-Moo
authors.forename: Carmen
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Nacarino Meneses
authors.forename: Miguel Ángel
authors.initials: MÁ
authors.lastname: Rodríguez Barbero
authors.forename: Orosia
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: García Gil
authors.forename: Josefina
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Rascón Pérez
authors.forename: Santiago
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Rello-Varona
authors.forename: Manuel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: D'Angelo
authors.forename: Manuel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Campo Martín
authors.forename: Armando
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: González Martín
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D001846:Bone Development / Q000502:physiology*; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D006801:Humans; D006811:Humerus / Q000254:growth & development*; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D013059:Spectrum Analysis, Raman; D014961:X-Ray Diffraction; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Raman spectroscopy; compartmentalisation; cortical bone; histology; humerus