Vestiges of our first steps: An evolutionary view of the supracondylar syndrome

Authors

  • Borja Figueirido University of Malaga (Spain).

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.7203/metode.10.15032

Keywords:

supracondylar syndrome, entepicondylar foramen, first tetrapods, atavisms, vestigial organs

Abstract

Understanding the evolution and function of structures in the past is key to understanding current biodiversity. This paper shows how an evolutionary perspective can help us to understand supracondylar syndrome. This pathology is caused by compression of the median nerve and/or the brachial artery in the arm and affects a significant percentage of the human population. We propose that this neuropathy is an atavism (the reappearance of an ancestral characteristic that had been lost along our evolutionary lineage) of the entepicondylar foramen: a channel present at the lower end of the humerus through which the brachial artery and the median nerve pass in some mammals. The origin of the foramen has been identified in the first tetrapods, and we propose that its original function could be linked to the evolutionary innovation of the cervical brachial plexus as well as the subsequent evolution of the entepicondylar foramen in amniotes – a group of terrestrial vertebrates that encompasses current reptiles and amphibians – and that it may be vestigial. 

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Author Biography

Borja Figueirido, University of Malaga (Spain).

Professor of Palaeontology and Evolution at the University of Malaga (Spain). He directs several projects designed to search for ecomorphological indicators to retrodict palaeobiological features in extinct species and the evolution of the groups to which they belong. His current work aims to understand the impact of climate change on the evolution of lineages throughout the history of life on earth.

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Published

2020-01-08

How to Cite

Figueirido, B. (2020). Vestiges of our first steps: An evolutionary view of the supracondylar syndrome. Metode Science Studies Journal, (10), 213–220. https://doi.org/10.7203/metode.10.15032
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Issue

Shades of science (2020)

Section

Endless forms. Evolutionary scenarios to unravel biodiversity

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