Abstract
Bipedalism results in strong constraints on the human hip joint. This joint ensures transmission of the forces between trunk and lower limbs. This PhD work addresses questions in physical anthropology, evolutionary biology and clinical orthopaedics.
An important methodological study was conducted in order to propose accurate methods to determine the three-dimensional axes of the two neighbouring components of the human hip joint, i.e. the acetabular region and the proximal femur. Next, variations in the three-dimensional orientations of the acetabulum and the femoral neck were quantified on a sample of modern humans. To better understand the nature of these variations, a review of the biomechanical literature was performed, and ontogenetic analyses were conducted.
An integrative analysis revealed complex relationships between the biomechanical systems governing the three-dimensional orientations of the acetabulum and the femoral neck. Some forces are shared by the two systems, making coherent the covariations quantified between the axes of the acetabulum and the femoral neck. However, each system is also governed by independent forces resulting in a low concordance of these same axes in a bipedal posture. We suggest that this poor concordance in a bipedal posture may partly be due to the phylogenetic history of the human hip joint. To test this hypothesis, comparative analyses were pursued and showed that maximal concordance was obtained for the genera Homo, Pan, Gorilla and Pongo in a quadrupedal posture.
Résumé
La bipédie induit de fortes contraintes mécaniques sur l’articulation de la hanche humaine qui assure la transmission des forces entre le tronc et les membres inférieurs. Les enjeux de cette thèse concernent l’anthropologie biologique, la biologie évolutive et l’orthopédie clinique.
Un important travail méthodologique a été réalisé afin d’obtenir des méthodes fiables de détermination des axes tridimensionnels des deux composantes osseuses de la hanche, à savoir la région acétabulaire et l’extrémité proximale du fémur. Puis, les variations des orientations tridimensionnelles de l’acetabulum et du col fémoral ont été quantifiées sur un échantillon d’Hommes modernes. Afin de comprendre la nature de ces variations, une synthèse biomécanique et des analyses ontogénétiques ont été réalisées.
Une analyse intégrative a révélé la complexité des liens existant entre les systèmes biomécaniques gouvernant les orientations de l’acetabulum et du col fémoral. Les deux systèmes sont soumis à certaines forces identiques expliquant les covariations quantifiées entre l’axe de l’acetabulum et celui du col fémoral. Pourtant, chaque système est influencé par des forces qui lui sont propres, responsables de la faible concordance des deux axes en station bipède. Nous avons proposé que cette faible concordance soit imputée à l’histoire phylogénétique de l’articulation. Afin de tester cette hypothèse une étude comparative a été menée et révèle que la concordance maximale est obtenue pour les genres Homo, Pan, Gorilla et Pongo en posture quadrupède.
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Cette thèse a reçu le prix de la Société d’anthropologie de Paris
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Bonneau, N. Three-dimensional analysis of the pelvi-femoral complex: its mechanism and development. Evolutionary and clinical implications. Bull. Mém. Soc. Anthropol. 25, 208–216 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13219-013-0087-5
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13219-013-0087-5