Abstract
Introduction and hypothesis
The female bony pelvis has to fulfil opposing functions: it has to be sufficiently closed to support the pelvic viscera in the upright position, while remaining sufficiently open to allow vaginal delivery. We aim to give an evolutionary perspective and the possible evolution of the bony pelvis from Lucy to the modern female with the implications in terms of genital prolapse.
Methods
Thirteen pelvimetric measurements were performed on 178 bony pelves: 1 fossil pelvis from Australopithecus Lucy, 128 female Caucasian modern adult pelves and 49 female Catarrhine pelves (29 gorillas and 20 chimpanzees).
Results
Lucy’s pelvis shape was the most transversely oval, short and broad, termed platypelloid. Modern female pelves were transversely oval only at the inlet. A protruding ischial spine, fairly small ischial tuberosities and a sacral concavity made Lucy closer to Homo sapiens and less like the great apes. In the last group, pelvic planes were anteroposteriorly oval, except in the gorilla, where the outlet was round or slightly transversely oval. The subpubic angle was narrowest in Lucy, whereas it was greater than 90° in the great apes.
Conclusions
The female pelvis is involved in both visceral support and parturition and represents a compromise. The narrower pelvis of Australopithecus Lucy provided protection against genital prolapse, but resulted in complex obstetrical mechanics. From an evolutionary perspective, the pelvis of Homo sapiens became modified to make parturition easier, but increased the risk of genital prolapse: the ilia became wide open laterally and the sacrum broadened with a shorter distance between the sacroiliac and coxofemoral joints.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Schimpf M, Tulikangas P (2005) Evolution of the female pelvis and relationships to pelvic organ prolapse. Int Urogynecol J 16:315–320
Sze EHM, Kohli N, Miklos JR, Roat T, Karram MM (1999) Computed tomography comparison of bony pelvis dimensions between women with and without genital prolapse. Obstet Gynecol 93:229–232
Baragi RV, DeLancey JOL, Caspari R, Howard DH, Ashton-Miller JA (2002) Differences in pelvic floor area between African American and European American Women. Am J Obstet Gynecol 187:111–115
Tague RG, Lovejoy CO (1986) The obstetric pelvis of A.L. 288–1 (Lucy). J Hum Evol 15:237–255
Chene G, Tardieu AS, Trombert B, Amouzougan A, Lamblin G, Mellier G, Coppens Y (2014) A species’ odyssey: evolution of obstetrical mechanics from Australopithecus Lucy to nowadays. Eur J Obstet Gynecol Reprod Med 181C:316–320
Häusler M, Schmid P (1995) Comparisons of the pelves of Sts 14 and AL 288–1: implications for birth and sexual dimorphism in Australopithecines. J Hum Evol 29:363–383
Tague RG, Lovejoy CO (1998) AL 288--1—Lucy or Lucifer: gender confusion in the Pliocene. J Hum Evol 35:75–94
Bouhallier J, Berge C, Penin X (2004) Procustes analysis of the pelvic cavity in Australopithecines (AL 288, Sts 14), humans and chimpanzees: obstetrical consequences. C R Palevol 3:295–304
Abitbol MM (1988) Evolution of the ischial spine and of the pelvic floor in the Hominoidea. Am J Phys Anthropol 75:53–67
Fossey D (2001) Gorillas in the mist. New Ed, Phoenix
Oelrich TM (1978) Pelvic and perineal anatomy of the male gorilla: selected observations. Anat Rec 191:433–446
Berge C, Goularas D (2010) A new reconstruction of Sts 14 pelvis (Australopithecus africanus) from computed tomography and three-dimensional modeling techniques. J Hum Evol 58:262–272
Abitbol MM (1987) Evolution of the lumbosacral angle. Am J Phys Anthropol 72:361–372
Nguyen JK, Lind LR, Choe JY, McKindsey F, Sinow R, Bhatia NN (2000) Lumbosacral spine and pelvic inlet changes associated with pelvic organ prolapse. Obstet Gynecol 95:332–336
Mattox TF, Lucente V, McIntyre P, Miklos JR, Tomezsko J (2000) Abnormal spinal curvature and its relationship to pelvic organ prolapse. Am J Obstet Gynecol 183:1381–1384
Lind LR, Lucente L, Kohn N (1996) Thoracic kyphosis and the prevalence of advanced uterine prolapse. Obstet Gynecol 87:605–609
Melli MS, Alizadeh M (2007) Abnormal spinal curvature as a risk factor for pelvic organ prolapse. Pak J Biol Sci 10:4218–4223
Raia-Barjat T, Tardieu AS, Amouzougan A, Trombert B, Chauleur C, Varlet MN, Patural H, Seffert P, Chene G (2011) Anthropometric analysis of obstetrical pelvis from Neolithic era: obstetrical consequences. Preliminary study. Gynecol Obstet Fertil 39:614–619
Green DJ, Alemseged Z (2012) Australopithecus afarensis scapular ontogeny, function, and the role of climbing in human evolution. Science 338:514–517
Acknowledgements
We’d like to thank: Dr Anne-Sylvie Tardieu for data collection and Dr Stéphanie Moret for statistical analysis; Dr Alain Froment, Mr Philippe Mennecier and Mrs Véronique Laborde, Collections-Anthropology of the French National History Museum (Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle-Musée de l’Homme), Paris; Mrs Christine Lefèvre and Mrs Aurélie Fort of the Comparative Anatomy Laboratory of the French National History Museum, Paris; Dr Amélie Vialet and Mrs Stéphanie Renault, Human Paleontology Institute, Fondation Albert Ier de Monaco, Paris.
Conflicts of interest
None.
Disclosure of funding
None.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Chene, G., Lamblin, G., Lebail-Carval, K. et al. The genital prolapse of Australopithecus Lucy?. Int Urogynecol J 26, 975–980 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00192-015-2635-7
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00192-015-2635-7