title: The human acromion viewed from an evolutionary perspective.
abstract: The high prevalence of rotator cuff tendinopathy in modern humans may be partly related to the shape acquired by the scapula as species changed throughout evolution. Here, we compared the anatomic features of the scapula across members of the Hominoid group. The results support the hypothesis that the scapula of Homo sapiens sapiens exhibits distinctive anatomic characteristics compared to that of other Hominoids. We studied 89 scapulae from five species. For each scapula, we measured eight parameters and determined six index. We then compared the results across species. We identified two distinctive characteristics of the lateral aspect of the human scapula, namely, a lateral orientation of the glenoid cavity and a narrow coraco-acromial arch. Similar to the gorilla acromion, the human one is steeply sloped and, above all, larger and squarer than the acromion of other Hominoids. These features may explain, in part at least, the pathogenesis of rotator cuff tendinopathy in modern man.
authors.affiliation: UMR 7268 ADES, Aix-Marseille Université/EFS/CNRS, Faculté de Médecine, La Timone, 27, boulevard Jean-Moulin, 13385 Marseille Cedex 05, France; Département de Préhistoire, Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, UMR 7194 et USM 103/CNRS, 1, rue René-Panhard, 75013 Paris, France. Electronic address: jeanlucvoisin2004@yahoo.fr.
authors.forename: J-L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Voisin
authors.affiliation: Service de Chirurgie Orthopédique et Traumatologique, CHU de Rennes, 2, rue Henri-Le-Guilloux, 35033 Rennes, France; Laboratoire M2S, Université Rennes 2 - ENS Rennes, avenue Robert-Schuman, 35170 Bruz, France.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ropars
authors.affiliation: Service de Chirurgie Orthopédique et Traumatologique, CHU de Rennes, 2, rue Henri-Le-Guilloux, 35033 Rennes, France.
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Thomazeau
mesh_terms: D000174:Acromion / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D060432:Anthropology, Medical; D006801:Humans; D017006:Rotator Cuff / Q000033:anatomy & histology; D012540:Scapula / Q000033:anatomy & histology; D052256:Tendinopathy / Q000209:etiology*
keywords: Acromion; Paleo-anthropology; Rotator cuff; Scapula