Full Description
A broad understanding of bone and tooth microstructure is necessary for constructing the biological profile of an individual or individuals within a population. Bone Histology: An Anthropological Perspective brings together authors with extensive experience and expertise in various aspects of hard tissue histology to provide a comprehensive discussion of the application of methods, current theories, and future directions in hard tissue research related to anthropological questions.
Topics discussed include:
The biology underlying skeletal growth and development leading to adult skeletal morphology
Current research in understanding in bone modeling
Histological features of dental hard tissues and their utility in biological anthropology
Histological analysis as a means to differentiate human from nonhuman bone and for the purpose of age estimation
The biomechanics of cortical bone
Histotaphonomy and how postmortem microstructural change can be used for taphonomic inquiry
The application of light microscopy in paleopathology to classify pathological conditions
The histological study of bone tissue of archaeological origin
Researchers' access to collections of bone samples with known demographic information
Technological aspects of hard tissue histology, including laboratory requirements and high-resolution imaging
In most cases, the physical remains of humans available to bioarchaeologists, paleopathologists, and paleontologists are limited to skeletal material. Fortunately, these hard tissues are a storehouse of information about biological processes experienced during the life of an individual. This volume provides an overview of the current state of research and potential applications in anthropology and other fields that employ a histological approach to the study of hard tissues.
Contents
Bone Remodeling, Histomorphology, and Histomorphometry. Growth and Development: Morphology, Mechanisms, and Abnormalities. Making the Mold: A Microstructural Perspective on Bone Modeling during Growth and Mechanical Adaptation. Histological Features of Dental Hard Tissues and Their Utility in Forensic Anthropology. Differentiating Human from Nonhuman Bone Microstructure. Histological Age-at-Death Estimation. Interpreting Load History in Limb-Bone Diaphyses: Important Considerations and Their Biomechanical Foundations. Bone Fracture: Biomechanics and Risk. Histotaphonomy. Light Microscopic Analysis of Macerated Pathologically Changed Bones. Histological Analyses of Human Bone from Archaeological Contexts. Bone Histology Collections of the National Museum of Health and Medicine. The Melbourne Femur Collection: How a Forensic and Anthropological Collection Came to Have Broader Applications. The Histology Laboratory and Principles of Microscope Instrumentation. Technological Developments in the Analysis of Cortical Bone Histology: The Third Dimension and Its Potential in Anthropology.
