Directional asymmetry in the human clavicle

The human right clavicle tends to be shorter than the left. A range of possible explanations can be advanced to account for this asymmetry. In the present work, clavicular morphology was studied in a medieval skeletal assemblage from Wharram Percy, England, with the aim of evaluating these competing explanations. At Wharram Percy, as anticipated, the right clavicle tended to be shorter. Patterns of asymmetry in curvature, robusticity, vascularization, and in the morphology of ligament and muscle attachment sites were also studied. The patterning in these data at Wharram Percy is consistent with inhibition of longitudinal growth of the clavicle on the dominant side due to lateral bias in mechanical loading, particularly in axial compression. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Age Changes in the Clavicle: from the Early Neonatal Period to Skeletal Maturity

Of all the long bones in the human skeleton, it is the clavicle which displays the longest period of growth-related activity, rendering it particularly useful for the estimation of age at death in the earlier years. However, because of the universal paucity of documented juvenile remains, most previous studies have, by necessity, not only been based on material of estimated age at death but also restricted to a narrow age range. The aim of the present study was to chart developmental age-related change in the clavicle across its full growth range using juvenile and young adult material of documented age at death. Maximum diaphysial length was recorded for prepubertal individuals and a grading of the progressive alterations in medial epiphysial morphology was recorded for post-pubertal specimens. In this way, age changes in the clavicle were examined across its developmental maturity continuum.