Journal Article

Bone mineral density and geometric morphometrics: Indicators of growth in the immature pars basilaris

Mendelow, Mira G., Hutchinson, Erin F., Thornton, Roxanne

2024

Overview

The pars basilaris forms a central component of the immature basicranium and owing to its resilience to post-mortem and taphonomic changes, holds significance across evolutionary, clinical, and forensic contexts. While size and shape parameters of the pars basilaris have been investigated, little is known about the influence of the underlying bone mineral density on the morphometry of this bone during growth. This study aimed to investigate the development and growth of the pars basilaris with specific reference to changes in bone density patterning and development of osteological features, during the prenatal and early postnatal periods of life. A total of 109 pars basilari were sourced from the Johannesburg Forensic Paediatric Collection, University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa. The study sample was subdivided into early prenatal (<30 gestational weeks), prenatal (30–40 gestational weeks) and postnatal (birth to 7.5 months) groups and micro-CT scanned to assess bone mineral density patterns across seven regions of interest. Size and shape changes were analysed using 11 digitized landmarks and geometric morphometrics. When comparing across age groups, the assessed dimensions increased with growth manifesting as a deepening at the anterior border of the foramen magnum, development of the lateral angles and widening of the bone at the lateral projections and spheno-occipital synchondrosis. However, no significant changes in the distribution of bone mineral density were observed. An appreciation of morphological changes and bone quality at specific growth sites in the pars basilaris is essential when analyzing remains of unknown provenance for the purposes of identification in disaster victim settings. •Novel bone mineral density analysis of human pars basilari suggests uniform ossification during gestation and infancy.•Three-dimensional landmark data contributes to the understanding of global shape changes during gestation and infancy.•Statistically significant differences in the size of the pars basilaris supports previous findings from dry bone metrics.•Growth regions on the surface of the pars basilaris contributes to the forensic identification of unidentified individuals.

• Publisher: Elsevier B.V,Elsevier Limited
• Subject: Age / Basicranium / Biomechanics / Bone density / Bone growth / Bone mineral density / Computed tomography / Criminal procedure / Fetal osteology / Forensic osteology / Forensic pathology / Forensic science / forensic sciences / Geometric morphometrics / geometry / Human remains / Investigations / micro-computed tomography / Morphometry / Pars basilaris / Pattern formation / Pediatrics / provenance / South Africa / Taphonomy