Journal article
Confocal scanning optical microscopy of a 3-million-year-old Australopithecus afarensis femur
Scanning, v 31(1), pp 1-10
Jan 2009
PMID: 19191265
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Abstract
Portable confocal scanning optical microscopy (PCSOM) has been specifically developed for the noncontact and nondestructive imaging of early human fossil hard tissues, which here we describe and apply to a 3-million-year-old femur from the celebrated Ethiopian skeleton, "Lucy," referred to Australopithecus afarensis. We examine two bone tissue parameters that demonstrate the potential of this technology. First, subsurface reflection images from intact bone reveal bone cell spaces, the osteocyte lacunae, whose density is demonstrated to scale negatively with body size, reflecting aspects of metabolism and organismal life history. Second, images of a naturally fractured cross section near to Lucy's femoral mid-shaft, which match in sign those of transmitted circularly polarized light, reveal relative collagen fiber orientation patterns that are an important indicator of femoral biomechanical efficacy. Preliminary results indicate that Lucy was characterized by metabolic constraints typical for a primate her body size and that in her femur she was adapted to habitual bipedalism. Limitations imposed by the transport and invasive histology of unique or rare fossils motivated development of the PCSOM so that specimens may be examined wherever and whenever nondestructive imaging is required.
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Details
- Title
- Confocal scanning optical microscopy of a 3-million-year-old Australopithecus afarensis femur
- Creators
- T G Bromage - Department of Biomaterials and Biomimetics, New York University College of Dentistry, New York, New York 10010, USA. tim.bromage@nyu.eduH M GoldmanS C McFarlinA Perez OchoaA Boyde
- Publication Details
- Scanning, v 31(1), pp 1-10
- Publisher
- Wiley; England
- Resource Type
- Journal article
- Language
- English
- Academic Unit
- Neurobiology and Anatomy
- Web of Science ID
- WOS:000263922800001
- Scopus ID
- 2-s2.0-60849133318
- Other Identifier
- 991014877719704721
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- Collaboration types
- Domestic collaboration
- International collaboration
- Web of Science research areas
- Instruments & Instrumentation
- Microscopy