Human variation in the shape of the birth canal is significant and geographically structured.

ABSTRACT: The human birth canal shows a tight fit with the size of the neonate, which can lead to obstetric complications. This is not the case in other apes, and has been explained as the outcome of conflicting evolutionary pressures for bipedal locomotion and parturition of a highly encephalized fetus. Despite the suggested evolutionary constraints on the female pelvis, we show that women are, in fact, extremely variable in the shape of the bony birth canal, with human populations having differently shaped pelvic canals. Neutral evolution through genetic drift and differential migration are largely responsible for the observed pattern of morphological diversity, which correlates well with neutral genetic diversity. Climatic adaptation might have played a role, albeit a minor one, with populations

SUBMITTER: Betti L 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6234894 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature