How Did the Pelvis and Vertebral Column Become a Functional Unit during the Transition from Occasional to Permanent Bipedalism?

We present an in vivo EOS study of eight spino‐pelvic parameters describing the sagittal balance in 131 adults. We observe a chain of correlations between the six angular parameters and discuss the functional significance of these results. We show that pelvic incidence increases and lumbar lordosis develops when the infant learns to walk, leading to a correlation between these parameters. This process of association between pelvis and spine might have acquired a solid genetic basis during hominid evolution by natural selection acting on both pelvis and spine. We suggest that this process of functional integration was only possible in the context of bipedal locomotion becoming permanent and stereotyped, expressed by a relatively invariant, periodic walking cycle. Anat Rec, 300:912–931, 2017. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Source: The Anatomical Record Part A: Discoveries in Molecular, Cellular, and Evolutionary Biology - April 12, 2017 Category: Molecular Biology Authors: Christine Tardieu, Kazuhiro Hasegawa, Martin Haeusler Tags: Special Issue Article Source Type: research