Hidden diversity: comparative functional morphology of humans and other species

PeerJ

article

Erin A. McKenney¹  Amanda R. Hale³  Janiaya Anderson⁵  Roxanne Larsen⁶  Colleen Grant³  Robert R. Dunn¹ 

[1] Department of Applied Ecology, North Carolina State University;North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences;Department of Biological Sciences, North Carolina State University;SNA International for the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency;Department of Psychology, North Carolina State University;Office of Curricular Affairs, Duke University School of Medicine;Department of Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences, University of Minnesota

关键词: Gastrointestinal morphology;    Dissection;    Anatomy;    Human variation;    Comparative variation;   

DOI  :  10.7717/peerj.15148

学科分类：社会科学、人文和艺术（综合）

来源: Inra

【 摘 要 】

Gastrointestinal (GI) morphology plays an important role in nutrition, health, and epidemiology; yet limited data on GI variation have been collected since 1885. Here we demonstrate that students can collect reliable data sets on gut morphology; when they do, they reveal greater morphological variation for some structures in the GI tract than has been documented in the published literature. We discuss trait variability both within and among species, and the implications of that variability for evolution and epidemiology. Our results show that morphological variation in the GI tract is associated with each organ’s role in food processing. For example, the length of many structures was found to vary significantly with feeding strategy. Within species, the variability illustrated by the coefficients of variation suggests that selective constraints may vary with function. Within humans, we detected significant Pearson correlations between the volume of the liver and the length of the appendix (t-value = 2.5278, df = 28, p = 0.0174, corr = 0.4311) and colon (t-value = 2.0991, df = 19, p = 0.0494, corr = 0.4339), as well as between the lengths of the small intestine and colon (t-value = 2.1699, df = 17, p = 0.0445, corr = 0.4657), which are arguably the most vital organs in the gut for nutrient absorption. Notably, intraspecific variation in the small intestine can be associated with life history traits. In humans, females demonstrated consistently and significantly longer small intestines than males (t-value15 = 2.245, p = 0.0403). This finding supports the female canalization hypothesis, specifically, increased female investment in the digestion and absorption of lipids.

【 授权许可】

CC BY