Dissertation Research: Gross Morphology and Bone Density Patterns in the Knees of Catarrhine Primates with Differing Locomotor Behaviors

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This project examines differences in the bone density patterns at the knee joint in monkeys, apes, and humans with the goal of correlating such differences with locomotion and hindlimb anatomy. It is predicted that primates living in different habitats (trees-dwelling vs. ground-dwelling), or adapted to different locomotor modes (e.g., four-legged vs. two-legged), will subject their knees to different loading patterns. It has been previously determined that patterns of bone density on a joint surface, based on grey scale patterns in CT scans, are correlated with patterns of loading at that joint. This technique will be used to create bone density contour maps of the upper portion of the tibia (shin bone) in an attempt to gain insight into different loading patterns of the primate knee. Once correlations between locomotor behavior, knee anatomy, and CT density patterns are discovered, they will enable the reconstruction of extinct locomotor behaviors. By examining humans and their closest relatives, this research can also benefit studies on the origin of modern pathologies of the human knee and their potential corrections. Lastly, the methods used here can be adapted for conducting similar studies on a variety of joint surfaces in the primate skeleton, thereby expanding our knowledge of the effects of locomotion on the force distribution in joints.