RT Journal Article
T1 The evolution, form and function of the human respiratory system
A1 Bastir, Markus
A1 Sanz Prieto, Daniel
A1 López-Rey, José María
A1 Palancar, Carlos A.
A1 Gómez Recio, Marta
A1 López Cano, Miguel
A1 González Ruiz, José María
A1 Pérez Ramos, Alejandro
A1 Burgos, Manuel A.
A1 Beyor, Benoit
A1 García Martínez, Daniel
AB This paper presents an updated view on the morphological and functional significance of the human respiratory system in the context of human evolutionary anatomy. While usually the respiratory system is treated either from a craniofacial perspective, mostly in the context of nasal evolution and airconditioning, or from a postcranial perspective featuring on overall thoracic shape changes, here we pursue a holistic perspective on the form, function, integration, and evolutionary change of the entire organismal system in hominins. We first present a brief review of the most important morphological structures, their function, and its potential integration and interaction with the nasal cavity and thoracic skeleton. This is followed by an overview of the most important improvements in methods for the comparative study in recent humans and fossil hominins. We then overview and list a compendium of hominin fossil material currently available for the study. We propose four functional categories of hominin respiratory system configurations that differ potentially with respect to size, shape, biomechanics and/or bioenergetics. Finally, we discuss these and speculate on possible ways for future research into an anatomical system that, despite its under-investigated status, is central to the understanding of the form and functions of the hominin organism and its paleobiology.
PB Istituto Italiano di Antropologia
SN 1827-4765
YR 2022
FD 2022
LK https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14352/123764
UL https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14352/123764
LA eng
NO Bastir, M., Sanz-Prieto, D., López-Rey, J. M., Palancar, C. A., Gómez-Recio, M., López-Cano, M., González-Ruíz, J. M., Pérez-Ramos, A., Burgos, M. A., Beyer, B., & García-Martínez, D. (2022). The evolution, form and function of the human respiratory system. Journal of Anthropological Sciences, 100, 141-172. https://doi.org/10.4436/JASS10014
NO Grant PID2020-115854GB-I00 to MB is funded by MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033 of the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation and the European Union and is linked to PRE2021- 097584 FPI dissertation grant to JMLRP. Grants PID2019- 105097RB I00/AEI/10.13039/501100011033) and PDC2022-133532-I00 are funded to MAB. MLC is funded by a FPU21/02087 Dissertation grant. Grant IIPPITD-2021 is funded to APR for stays of UMA researchers in quality research centers. We thank Antonella LoMauro and Andrea Aliverti for discussions about opto-electronic motion capture.
NO Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación (España)
NO European Commission
DS Docta Complutense
RD 11 oct 2025