title: Evolutionary developmental pathology and anthropology: A new field linking development, comparative anatomy, human evolution, morphological variations and defects, and medicine.
abstract: We introduce a new subfield of the recently created field of Evolutionary-Developmental-Anthropology (Evo-Devo-Anth): Evolutionary-Developmental-Pathology-and-Anthropology (Evo-Devo-P'Anth). This subfield combines experimental and developmental studies of nonhuman model organisms, biological anthropology, chordate comparative anatomy and evolution, and the study of normal and pathological human development. Instead of focusing on other organisms to try to better understand human development, evolution, anatomy, and pathology, it places humans as the central case study, i.e., as truly model organism themselves. We summarize the results of our recent Evo-Devo-P'Anth studies and discuss long-standing questions in each of the broader biological fields combined in this subfield, paying special attention to the links between: (1) Human anomalies and variations, nonpentadactyly, homeotic transformations, and "nearest neighbor" vs. "find and seek" muscle-skeleton associations in limb+facial muscles vs. other head muscles; (2) Developmental constraints, the notion of "phylotypic stage," internalism vs. externalism, and the "logic of monsters" vs. "lack of homeostasis" views about human birth defects; (3) Human evolution, reversions, atavisms, paedomorphosis, and peromorphosis; (4) Scala naturae, Haeckelian recapitulation, von Baer's laws, and parallelism between phylogeny and development, here formally defined as "Phylo-Devo parallelism"; and (5) Patau, Edwards, and Down syndrome (trisomies 13, 18, 21), atavisms, apoptosis, heart malformations, and medical implications.
authors: Department of Anatomy, Howard University College of Medicine, Washington, DC.
authors: Rui
authors: R
authors: Diogo
authors: Department of Anatomy, Howard University College of Medicine, Washington, DC.
authors: Christopher M
authors: CM
authors: Smith
authors: Department of Anatomy, Howard University College of Medicine, Washington, DC.
authors: Janine M
authors: JM
authors: Ziermann
mesh_terms: D000715:Anatomy / Q000379:methods; D000717:Anatomy, Comparative; D000818:Animals; D000883:Anthropology / Q000379:methods; D005075:Biological Evolution; D002887:Chromosomes, Human, Pair 18; D000013:Congenital Abnormalities / Q000235:genetics / Q000503:physiopathology; D015509:Developmental Biology / Q000379:methods; D004314:Down Syndrome / Q000235:genetics / Q000503:physiopathology; D005532:Foot Deformities, Congenital / Q000235:genetics; D006228:Hand Deformities, Congenital / Q000235:genetics; D006330:Heart Defects, Congenital / Q000235:genetics; D006706:Homeostasis; D006801:Humans; D007621:Karyotyping; D010336:Pathology / Q000379:methods; D010802:Phylogeny; D014314:Trisomy; D000073842:Trisomy 18 Syndrome
keywords: Down syndrome and other trisomies; atavisms and reversions; constraints; facial muscles; internalism and externalism; logic of monsters; muscle-bone spatial associations; nonpentadactyly; phylotypic stage; von Baer and Haeckel's recapitulation