Musculoskeletal System - Pelvis Development

Embryology - 16 Apr 2024        Expand to Translate
Google Translate - select your language from the list shown below (this will open a new external page)
العربية | català | 中文 | 中國傳統的 | français | Deutsche | עִברִית | हिंदी | bahasa Indonesia | italiano | 日本語 | 한국어 | မြန်မာ | Pilipino | Polskie | português | ਪੰਜਾਬੀ ਦੇ | Română | русский | Español | Swahili | Svensk | ไทย | Türkçe | اردو | ייִדיש | Tiếng Việt    These external translations are automated and may not be accurate. (More? About Translations)

Introduction

The Embryonic Pelvic Girdle (week 5)

Adult appendicular skeleton

Hip bone

The pelvis is a developmentally complex skeletal structure requiring the fusion of separate elements and articulation with both the axial skeleton and lower limb. Postnatally, the human upright posture has also placed highly species specific physical demands on this structure. Developmental dysplasia of the hip is also one of the 3 most common (along with cleft palate, cleft lip) skeletal abnormalities.

The skeletal pelvis consists of: the sacrum and coccyx (axial skeleton), and pelvic girdle formed by a pair of hip bones (appendicular skeleton). Before puberty, he pelvic girdle also consists of three unfused bones: the ilium, ischium, and pubis. In chicken, the entire pelvic girdle originates from the somatopleure mesoderm (somite levels 26 to 35) and the ilium, but not of the pubis and ischium, depends on somitic and ectodermal signals.

The mesoderm forms nearly all the connective tissues of the musculoskeletal system. Each tissue (cartilage, bone, and muscle) goes through many different mechanisms of differentiation.

The musculoskeletal system consists of skeletal muscle, bone, and cartilage and is mainly mesoderm in origin with some neural crest contribution.

The intraembryonic mesoderm can be broken into paraxial, intermediate and lateral mesoderm relative to its midline position. During the 3rd week the paraxial mesoderm forms into "balls" of mesoderm paired either side of the neural groove, called somites.

Somites appear bilaterally as pairs at the same time and form earliest at the cranial (rostral,brain) end of the neural groove and add sequentially at the caudal end. This addition occurs so regularly that embryos are staged according to the number of somites that are present. Different regions of the somite differentiate into dermomyotome (dermal and muscle component) and sclerotome (forms vertebral column). An example of a specialized musculoskeletal structure can be seen in the development of the limbs.

Skeletal muscle forms by fusion of mononucleated myoblasts to form mutinucleated myotubes. Bone is formed through a lengthy process involving ossification of a cartilage formed from mesenchyme. Two main forms of ossification occur in different bones, intramembranous (eg skull) and endochondrial (eg limb long bones) ossification. Ossification continues postnatally, through puberty until mid 20s. Early ossification occurs at the ends of long bones.

The pelvis is also covered in some urogenital studies. Musculoskeletal and limb abnormalities are also one of the largest groups of congenital abnormalities.

See also the Anatomical Record - Special Issue:The Human Pelvis: Anatomy, Development and Function (April 2017).

Links: pelvis | shoulder | appendicular skeleton | axial skeleton

Historic Pelvis
Thomson A. The sexual differences of the fetal pelvis. (1899) J Anat Physiol. 33(3): 359-380. Ruth EB. A study of the development of the mammalian pelvis. (1932) Anat. Rec. 53(2): 208 -

Some Recent Findings

Position of pelvis in the 3rd month of life predicts further motor development "The aim of the study is to select elements of motor skills assessed at 3 months that provide the best predictive properties for motor development at 9 months. In all children a physiotherapeutic assessment of the quantitative and qualitative development at the age of 3 months was performed in the prone and supine positions, which was presented in previous papers as the quantitative and qualitative assessment sheet of motor development. The neurological examination at the age of 9 months was based on the Denver Development Screening Test II and the evaluation of reflexes, muscle tone (hypotony and hypertony), and symmetry. The particular elements of motor performance assessment were shown to have distinct predictive value for further motor development (as assessed at 9 months), and the pelvis position was the strongest predictive element. Irrespective of the symptomatic and anamnestic factors the inappropriate motor performance may already be detected in the 3rd month of life and is predictive for further motor development. The assessment of the motor performance should be performed in both supine and prone positions. The proper position of pelvis summarizes the proper positioning of the whole spine and ensures proper further motor development. To our knowledge, the presented motor development assessment sheet allows the earliest prediction of motor disturbances." Anatomy, Development, and Function of the Human Pelvis "The pelvis is an anatomically complex and functionally informative bone that contributes directly to both human locomotion and obstetrics. Because of the pelvis' important role in obstetrics, it is one of the most sexually dimorphic bony elements of the human body. The complex intersection of pelvic dimorphism, locomotion, and obstetrics has been reenergized by exciting new research, and many papers in this special issue of the pelvis help provide clarity on the relationship between pelvic form (especially female) and locomotor function. Compared to the pelvis of our ape relatives, the human pelvis is uniquely shaped; it is superoinferiorly short and stout, and mediolaterally wide-critical adaptations for bipedalism that are already present in some form very early in the history of the hominin lineage. In this issue, 13 original research papers address the anatomy, development, variation, and function of the modern human pelvis, with implications for understanding the selection pressures that shaped and continue to shape this bone. This rich collection of scholarship moves our understanding of the pelvis forward, while raising dozens of new questions that we hope will serve as inspiration for colleagues and students (both current and future) puzzled by this fascinatingly complex bone." Cartilage formation in the pelvic skeleton during the embryonic and early-fetal period "The pelvic skeleton is formed via endochondral ossification. However, it is not known how the normal cartilage is formed before ossification occurs. Furthermore, the overall timeline of cartilage formation and the morphology of the cartilage in the pelvis are unclear. In this study, cartilage formation in the pelvic skeletons of 25 human fetuses (crown-rump length [CRL] = 11.9-75.0 mm) was observed using phase-contrast computed tomography and 7T magnetic resonance imaging. Review - Ontogeny of the Human Pelvis "The human pelvis has evolved over time into a remarkable structure, optimised into an intricate architecture that transfers the entire load of the upper body into the lower limbs, while also facilitating bipedal movement. The pelvic girdle is composed of two hip bones, os coxae, themselves each formed from the gradual fusion of the ischium, ilium and pubis bones. Unlike the development of the classical long bones, a complex timeline of events must occur in order for the pelvis to arise from the embryonic limb buds. An initial blastemal structure forms from the mesenchyme, with chondrification of this mass leading to the first recognisable elements of the pelvis. Primary ossification centres initiate in utero, followed post-natally by secondary ossification at a range of locations, with these processes not complete until adulthood.

More recent papers

This table allows an automated computer search of the external PubMed database using the listed "Search term" text link. This search now requires a manual link as the original PubMed extension has been disabled. The displayed list of references do not reflect any editorial selection of material based on content or relevance. References also appear on this list based upon the date of the actual page viewing. References listed on the rest of the content page and the associated discussion page (listed under the publication year sub-headings) do include some editorial selection based upon both relevance and availability. More? References | Discussion Page | Journal Searches | 2019 References | 2020 References Note this search term may result in listing some papers related to renal development. Search term: Pelvis Embryology | Pelvis Development

Older papers
These papers originally appeared in the Some Recent Findings table, but as that list grew in length have now been shuffled down to this collapsible table. See also the Discussion Page for other references listed by year and References on this current page.

Textbooks

• The Developing Human: Clinically Oriented Embryology (8th Edition) by Keith L. Moore and T.V.N Persaud - Moore & Persaud Chapter 15 the skeletal system
• Larsen’s Human Embryology by GC. Schoenwolf, SB. Bleyl, PR. Brauer and PH. Francis-West - Chapter 11 Limb Dev (bone not well covered in this textbook)
• Before we Are Born (5th ed.) Moore and Persaud Chapter 16,17: p379-397, 399-405
• Essentials of Human Embryology Larson Chapter 11 p207-228

Timeline

The following timeline data comes from a recent CT and MRI study of late human embryos from the Kyoto Collection.

Human Pelvis Development

Carnegie Stage	Event
18	chondrification centres of the ilium, ischium, and pubis first appears. Located around the acetabulum and grew radially.
20	iliac crest formed while the iliac body's central part remained chondrified.
22	Sacroiliac joint forms.
22	Iliac body is discoid. The growth rate was greater in the ilium than in the sacrum-coccyx, pubis, and ischium.
23	Articulation of the pubic symphysis, connection of the articular column in the sacrum, and Y-shape connection of the three parts of the hip bones to the acetabulum.
Early Fetal	connection of the ischium and pubic ramus.
Data from human CT and MRI study.
Links: pelvis | pelvis timeline | joint | limb | timeline

Muscle Development (Myogenesis)

• Early myogenic progenitor cells in the dermomyotome can be initially identified by the transcription factor Pax3.
• Subsequent myogenic program development then depends on the myogenic determination factors (Myf5, MyoD, and MRF4), both Myf5 and MyoD are expressed in the limbs.
• Final differentiation of these cells into post-mitotic muscle fibers in the limb bud is regulated by another myogenic determination factor, Myogenin.

(Some of the above text modified from

Links: Muscle Development

Limb Bone

Limb sox9 and Wnt6 expression

Chicken- limb bud chondrogenesis

Bone formation within the limb occurs by endochondral ossification of a pre-existing cartilage template. Ossification then replaces the existing cartilage except in the regions of articulation, where cartilage remains on the surface of the bone within the joint. Therefore bone development in the limb is initially about cartilage development or chondrogenesis.

In addition, there are two quite separate aspects to this development.

1. Pattern - where the specific regions will commence to form cartilage, which will be different for each cartilage element.
2. Chondrogenesis - the differentiation of mesoderm to form cartilage, which will be essentially the same program for all cartilage templates.

A recent study has identified that the overlying limb surface ectoderm potentially inhibits limb early chondrogenesis through Wnt6 signaling.

Links: Cartilage Development | Bone Development

Molecular

Fibroblast Growth Factors

• Fgf8 - morphogen gradient forms by a source-sink mechanism with freely diffusing molecules.

Abnormalities

ICD-11
LB74 Structural developmental anomalies of pelvic girdle - LB74.0 Developmental dysplasia of hip LB74.1 Congenital subluxation of hip | LB74.2 Unstable hip | LB74.3 Congenital coxa vara | LB74.4 Congenital coxa valga | LB74.5 Wide symphysis pubis | LB74.Y Other specified structural developmental anomalies of pelvic girdle | LB74.Z Structural developmental anomalies of pelvic girdle, unspecified

Developmental Dysplasia of the Hip

X-Ray Developmental Dysplasia of the Hip

Acetabular angle

ICD-11 LB74.0 Developmental dysplasia of hip

A condition caused by failure of the hip to correctly develop during the antenatal period. This condition is characterized by slippage of the hip from the socket. This condition may present with outward turning of the leg, reduced movement on one side of the body, shortness of one leg, uneven skin folds on thigh or buttocks, walking difficulties, or inward rounding of the lower back.

Developmental dysplasia of the hip ((DDH) or congenital hip dislocation is one of the 3 most common skeletal abnormalities and can range from unilateral or bilateral instability to complete dislocation at the femur acetabulum of the lower limb. See the recommendation statement for screening for developmental dysplasia of the hip.

• Instability: 1:60 at birth; 1:240 at 1 wk: Dislocation untreated; 1:700
• congenital instability of hip, later dislocates by muscle pulls or gravity
• familial predisposition female predominance
• Growth of femoral head, acetabulum and innominate bone are delayed until the femoral head fits firmly into the acetabulum.

Barlow test

(Barlow maneuver) A clinical term to describe a physical examination of the newborn for Developmental dysplasia of the hip (DDH). The examiner adducts the hip (bringing the thigh towards the midline) while applying light pressure on the knee, directing the force posteriorly. A positive sign is the hip being dislocatable, if the hip can be popped out of socket with this test. This test is then combined with the Ortolani test (manoeuvre). The test is named after Thomas Barlow (1845 – 1945) a British royal physician.

Ortolani test

(Ortolani manoeuvre) A clinical term to describe a physical examination of the newborn for developmental dysplasia of the hip (DDH). This is a test for posterior dislocation of the hip. Using the examiner's thumb, abduct the infant's leg, while using the examiner's index finger to place anterior pressure on the greater trochanter. A positive sign is a distinctive 'clunk' which can be heard and felt as the femoral head relocates anteriorly into the acetabulum, usually becomes negative after 2 months of age. This test is combined with the Barlow test (maneuver). Named after Marino Ortolani, the test developer in 1976.

Abduction Splints

There is variable evidence for the use of abduction splinting during onset of walking in children on the maturation of mild dysplastic hips.

Shoulder

The skeletal shoulder consists of: the clavicle (collarbone), the scapula (shoulder blade), and the humerus. Development of his region occurs through both forms of ossification processes.

Links: shoulder

References

Reviews

Anatomical Record - Special Issue:The Human Pelvis: Anatomy, Development and Function. April 2017 DeSilva JM & Rosenberg KR. (2017). Anatomy, Development, and Function of the Human Pelvis. Anat Rec (Hoboken) , 300, 628-632. PMID: 28297176 DOI.

Hill RE. (2007). How to make a zone of polarizing activity: insights into limb development via the abnormality preaxial polydactyly. Dev. Growth Differ. , 49, 439-48. PMID: 17661738 DOI.

Articles

Satoh A, Makanae A & Wada N. (2010). The apical ectodermal ridge (AER) can be re-induced by wounding, wnt-2b, and fgf-10 in the chicken limb bud. Dev. Biol. , 342, 157-68. PMID: 20347761 DOI.

Galli A, Robay D, Osterwalder M, Bao X, Bénazet JD, Tariq M, Paro R, Mackem S & Zeller R. (2010). Distinct roles of Hand2 in initiating polarity and posterior Shh expression during the onset of mouse limb bud development. PLoS Genet. , 6, e1000901. PMID: 20386744 DOI.

Stefanov EK, Ferrage JM, Parchim NF, Lee CE, Reginelli AD, Taché M & Anderson RA. (2009). Modification of the zone of polarizing activity signal by trypsin. Dev. Growth Differ. , 51, 123-33. PMID: 19207183 DOI.

Search PubMed

Search Pubmed: Pelvis Development |

Additional Images

• 

  Adult appendicular skeleton

• 

  Bone structure

• 

  Developing vertebra

• 

  Endochondral bone

Glossary Links

Glossary: A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z | Numbers | Symbols | Term Link

---

Cite this page: Hill, M.A. (2024, April 16) Embryology Musculoskeletal System - Pelvis Development. Retrieved from https://embryology.med.unsw.edu.au/embryology/index.php/Musculoskeletal_System_-_Pelvis_Development

What Links Here?

© Dr Mark Hill 2024, UNSW Embryology ISBN: 978 0 7334 2609 4 - UNSW CRICOS Provider Code No. 00098G