Bone histomorphometry refers to the study of the structure and microscopic features of bone tissue. It involves the measurement and assessment of bone microanatomy, and it provides valuable information on bone properties. Through the application of histomorphometry, researchers can acquire information on bone metabolism and on remodeling dynamics, which is useful to the study of bone health. During the last 50 years, biological anthropologists have adopted the use of histomorphometry while examining issues specific to human health and evolutionary trends from prehistoric remains. Scientists coming from the medical field have applied histomorphometry in their research as it allows the study of bone changes, useful to describe pathological conditions among these ancient human remains. This paper reflects on some of the research that involves histomorphometric analysis specific to diet and health, forensic anthropology, taphonomic assessment of bone, non-human primate research and biomechanics. The purpose of the paper is to consider past and future applications of bone histomorphometry to enable a discussion which might direct research towards under-explored areas of bone biology. For example, looking at renewed interest in clavicular histology and stimulating investigations that focus on osteocyte density. Additionally, a discussion is offered concerning OPD values used to correlate chronological age to biological age estimations.

中文翻译：

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组织形态计量学专门针对有关人类状况的人类学研究。


骨组织形态计量学是指对骨组织的结构和微观特征的研究。它涉及骨显微解剖学的测量和评估，并提供有关骨特性的有价值的信息。通过组织形态计量学的应用，研究人员可以获得骨代谢和重塑动力学的信息，这对于骨健康的研究很有用。在过去的 50 年里，生物人类学家在研究人类健康的具体问题和史前遗迹的进化趋势时，采用了组织形态测量学。来自医学领域的科学家在他们的研究中应用了组织形态计量学，因为它可以研究骨骼变化，有助于描述这些古代人类遗骸的病理状况。本文回顾了一些涉及饮食和健康的组织形态测量分析、法医人类学、骨骼埋藏学评估、非人类灵长类动物研究和生物力学的研究。本文的目的是考虑骨组织形态计量学过去和未来的应用，以便进行可能将研究引导到骨生物学尚未探索的领域的讨论。例如，人们对锁骨组织学重新产生了兴趣，并刺激了针对骨细胞密度的研究。此外，还讨论了用于将实际年龄与生物学年龄估计相关联的 OPD 值。