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An Introductory Analysis of Wolff's Law: The Genetic Influence on Bone Morphology

Kasturiarachi, Courtney M
http://orcid.org/0000-0002-2101-5784
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ksuhonors1587931597177472

Abstract Details

2020, BS, Kent State University, College of Arts and Sciences / Department of Anthropology.
For many decades, the notion that bone adapts based on mechanical loading has been utilized by bioarchaeologists, anatomists, paleontologists and many educators. Understanding how bone is altered during life is critical in making inferences about the past. For decades, the interplay between genetics and environmental factors on bone morphology has been widely debated. Wolff’s Law is an outdated law that states that bone adapts to mechanical loading. Wolff’s Law is not a rigorous law, it is merely a hypothesis. The concept does not take into account new discoveries that have occurred after the late 19th century: such as genetics, epigenetic factors, hormonal factors, signaling factors, the age of bone, etc. In this review, the need for a revision of the basic ideas of Wolff’s “law” is demonstrated through the analysis of the previous reviews of Wolff’s Law (Bertram and Swartz, 1991; Lovejoy et al., 2002; Pearson and Lieberman, 2004; Ruff et al., 2006). New studies are also investigated to further prove the major role of genetics in bone morphology (Serrat et al., 2003). Bone morphology is indeed a complex subject, and an outdated and vague disproven law should not be used to explain the effects of mechanical loading on bone remodeling. Thus, it should no longer be called Wolff’s “law,” but perhaps a principle on bone functional adaptation (Bertram and Swartz, 1991; Pearson and Lieberman, 2004; Ruff et al., 2006).
Linda Spurlock, PhD (Advisor)
C. Owen Lovejoy, PhD (Committee Member)
66 p.
Biology; Genetics; Morphology
Wolff, Bone, Anatomy, Morphology, Femur, Genetics

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Kasturiarachi, C. M. (2020). An Introductory Analysis of Wolff's Law: The Genetic Influence on Bone Morphology [Undergraduate thesis, Kent State University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ksuhonors1587931597177472

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Kasturiarachi, Courtney. An Introductory Analysis of Wolff's Law: The Genetic Influence on Bone Morphology. 2020. Kent State University, Undergraduate thesis. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ksuhonors1587931597177472.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Kasturiarachi, Courtney. "An Introductory Analysis of Wolff's Law: The Genetic Influence on Bone Morphology." Undergraduate thesis, Kent State University, 2020. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ksuhonors1587931597177472

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

ksuhonors1587931597177472
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© 2020, some rights reserved.Creative Commons License An Introductory Analysis of Wolff's Law: The Genetic Influence on Bone Morphology by Courtney M Kasturiarachi is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License. Based on a work at etd.ohiolink.edu.
This open access ETD is published by Kent State University Honors College and OhioLINK.