Bone is characterised by age-related morphological and histological changes. We have previously established an automated method of recording bone morphometry and histology from entire transverse sections of cortical bone. Our aim was to determine whether data acquired using this automated system were useful in the prediction of age. Ninety-six specimens of human femoral middiaphysis were studied from subjects aged 21–92 y. Equations predicting specimen age were constructed using macroscopic data (total subperiosteal area (TSPA), periosteal perimeter (PP), endosteal perimeter (EP), cortical bone area (CA) and moments of area) and microscopic data (the number, size and diversity of pores and intracortical porosity) together with sex, height and weight. Both TSPA and PP were independent predictors of age but the number of pores was not a significant predictor of age in any equation. The age predicted by these equations was inaccurate by more than 8 y in over half the subjects. We conclude that we could not predict age at a clinically acceptable level using data from our automated system. This most likely reflects an insensitivity to regional age-related changes in bone histology because we recorded data from each entire cortex. Automated bone measurement according to cortical region might be more useful in the prediction of age. The inclusion of TSPA together with PP as independent predictors of age raises the possibility that a future measure of periosteal shape at the femoral diaphysis could also be helpful in the prediction of age. The accuracy reached with the relatively simple methods described here is sufficient to encourage the development of image-analysis systems for the automatic detection of more complex features.

24–26 July 2000. Department of Anatomy, University of Cambridge; this will be a tripartite meeting with the Anatomische Gesellschaft and the Nederlandse Anatomen Vereniging. This will include symposia on ‘The neuroanatomical basis of the emergence of behaviour’, and ‘Anatomy: the challenges for the 21st century.’

4 September 2000. University of York. One day symposium (part of the International Congress of Histochemistry and Cytochemistry, 3–8 September 2000) on ‘Digital image capture, processing and analysis’.

The degrees of mediolateral asymmetry of the patellar articular facet, as well as the median and lateral articular angles of the facet, were compared across samples of recent humans and of Pleistocene archaic and modern fossil humans. All samples exhibit considerable variability in these patellar proportions. The articular angles are similar across the different samples, but there is a trend towards decreasing lateral angles with decreasing robusticity. The archaic humans exhibit significantly more symmetry of the medial and lateral facets than do any of the recent human samples. However, given the variability in medial versus lateral patellofemoral contact forces documented for extant humans and the roles of the distal oblique portions of vastus medialis and vastus lateralis in patellar stabilisation, it is unclear to what extent this variation in patellar articular proportions may affect knee kinesiology. The contrasts may be related to different levels of patellar stability and/or musculoskeletal hypertrophy, but they appear unlikely to have affected primary knee function.

In most mammalian species the cardiac skeleton is composed of coarse collagen fibres, fibrocartilage, and pieces of hyaline cartilage. Bone, the os cordis, is a regular constituent of the ruminant heart. The cardiac skeleton of the otter (Lutra lutra) has not previously been described. The skeleton in 30 otter hearts was studied by x-ray analysis and light microscopy. Serial sections were cut parallel to the atrioventricular plane and histochemical staining methods were performed to identify connective tissue fibres, glycosaminoglycans, mineral deposits, and bone. Age and sex of the animals under investigation were considered. The otter heart skeleton was composed of coarse collagen fibres with intercalated pieces of fibrous and/or hyaline cartilage, calcified cartilage, and lamellar bone with red or white marrow. Pieces of hyaline cartilage were not clearly defined: a perichondrial layer was missing and coarse connective tissue continuously transformed into fibrous and hyaline cartilage. In both sexes the amount of cartilage and bone were found to increase with age.

Our results establish the presence of bony material in the heart skeleton of the otter, a small mammalian species. This finding indicates that differentiation of bone is not exclusively related to the size of the organ. Increasing amounts of calcified cartilage and bone correlated with increasing age.

Future meetings

24–26 July 2000. Department of Anatomy, University of Cambridge; this will be a tripartite meeting with the Anatomische Gesellschaft and the Nederlandse Anatomen Vereniging. This will include symposia on ‘The neuroanatomical basis of the emergence of behaviour’, and ‘Anatomy: the challenges for the 21st century.’

4 September 2000. University of York. One day symposium (part of the International Congress of Histochemistry and Cytochemistry, 3–8 September 2000) on ‘Digital image capture, processing and analysis’.