Human variation in the shape of the birth canal is significant and geographically structured.
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Publication Date
2018-10-24Journal Title
Proc Biol Sci
ISSN
0962-8452
Publisher
The Royal Society
Volume
285
Issue
1889
Language
eng
Type
Article
This Version
AM
Physical Medium
Electronic
Metadata
Show full item recordCitation
Betti, L., & Manica, A. (2018). Human variation in the shape of the birth canal is significant and geographically structured.. Proc Biol Sci, 285 (1889) https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2018.1807
Abstract
The human birth canal shows a tight fit with the size of the neonate, which can lead to obstetric complications. This is not the case in other apes, and has been explained as the outcome of conflicting evolutionary pressures for bipedal locomotion and parturition of a highly encephalized fetus. Despite the suggested evolutionary constraints on the female pelvis, we show that women are, in fact, extremely variable in the shape of the bony birth canal, with human populations having differently shaped pelvic canals. Neutral evolution through genetic drift and differential migration are largely responsible for the observed pattern of morphological diversity, which correlates well with neutral genetic diversity. Climatic adaptation might have played a role, albeit a minor one, with populations from colder regions showing a more transversally oval shape of the canal inlet. The significant extent of canal shape variation among women from different regions of the world has important implications for modern obstetric practice in multi-ethnic societies, as modern medical understanding has been largely developed on studies of European women.
Keywords
Pelvis, Humans, Genetic Drift, Geography, Female, Biological Evolution
Identifiers
External DOI: https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2018.1807
This record's URL: https://www.repository.cam.ac.uk/handle/1810/286409
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http://www.rioxx.net/licenses/all-rights-reserved
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