2025, Vol.38, No.2

Anatomy & Biological Anthropology 2023 KCI Impact Factor : 0.33

pISSN : 2671-5651 / eISSN : 2671-566X
https://journal.kci.go.kr/aba

Pelvic radiotherapy is a widely used curative treatment for prostate cancer. Due to its close anatomical proximity to the prostate, the bladder is highly susceptible to radiation-induced toxicity. Its variable volume and shape significantly influence dose distribution and the position of adjacent organs including the small bowel, making it a critical organ at risk during treatment planning. This review highlights the anatomical features and physiological functions of the bladder relevant to radiotherapy, the mechanisms of radiation-induced bladder injuries, and current strategies to minimize toxicity. Strategies to reduce bladder toxicity include consistent bladder filling or emptying protocols, with clinical studies supporting the feasibility of both. Empty bladder protocols have shown non-inferior outcomes in selected patients, improving setup reproducibility and patient compliance. Meanwhile, bladder filling helps reduce the dose to the bladder wall and displace small bowel from high-dose area. Bladder volume monitoring using cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) or ultrasonography (US) allows for daily assessment of volume consistency. In particular, US offers a non-invasive, rapid alternative that correlates well with CBCT measurements. In summary, the bladder’s anatomical and functional variability presents both challenges and opportunities in prostate cancer radiotherapy. Integration of individualized preparation protocols and real-time imaging strategies is essential to reduce toxicity, enhance treatment accuracy, and improve patient outcomes.

This paper examines the phenomenon of adolescent subfecundity in humans and some great apes from the perspectives of biological anthropology and evolutionary biology. Owing to their altricial nature, humans require considerable energy and time to reach full maturity, and they exhibit a unique developmental pattern in which the onset of menarche and the optimal timing for reproduction (i.e., pregnancy and childbirth) are misaligned. Consequently, a period emerges during which reproductive capability is only partially realized despite incomplete physical readiness. In this study, we review the developmental physiological mechanisms underlying subfecundity, with particular emphasis on the immaturity of the hypothalamic-pituitary-ovarian (HPO) axis, incomplete hormonal feedback regulation, and metabolic disturbances related to nutritional status and energy balance. We further discuss the prevalence of this phenomenon by drawing on evidence from hunter-gatherer societies and research on great apes. Additionally, by preliminarily analyzing the influence of life history variables-such as average adult female body mass, age at menarche, age at first reproduction, and survival probability until age 15-on the duration of subfecundity, we propose three evolutionary hypotheses: the growth-reproduction trade-off hypothesis, the inclusive fitness enhancement hypothesis, and the beginner mate-search hypothesis. A comprehensive understanding of adolescent subfecundity from an evolutionary perspective will require further research involving diverse populations, including hunter-gatherers, as well as mathematical modeling within a biological anthropology framework.

In forensic anthropology, sex estimation commonly relies on Walker’s morphological scoring system, which assesses five cranial traits: the mastoid process, glabella, supraorbital ridge, nuchal crest, and mental eminence. Among these, the mental eminence is a critical feature, but its complex, irregular three-dimensional structure-prone to population-specific variation-makes it difficult to analyze using traditional metric techniques. This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of a metric approach by measuring the surface area of the mental eminence on 3D reconstructed CT images of Korean mandibles. It also compared the results with a previously established non-metric method developed for non-Korean populations. A total of 645 CT scans of adult Korean mandibles (355 males, 290 females), all from individuals over age 20 without fractures or deformities, were analyzed. Of these, 100 were randomly selected for non-metric analysis, and the remaining 545 were used for metric evaluation. For the non-metric method, the final sex estimation results showed a sex-matching rate of 41%, with 49% classified as indeterminate and 10% misclassified. Specifically, the sex-matching rate was 43% for males and 39% for females. In contrast, the metric method demonstrated that the surface area of the mental eminence was significantly larger in males than in females. The sex-matching rate for the metric method was 71% (66.7% for males and 75.5% for females). Consequently, the application of the metric method based on the mental eminence surface area improved sex estimation accuracy by 30% compared to the non-metric method. The proposed metric method for sex estimation is more suitable for Korean skulls than for those of non-Korean populations and demonstrates greater accuracy and reliability compared to the non-metric method. The findings of this study suggest a novel approach to sex estimation using a metric method that had previously been underutilized due to the structural complexity of the mental eminence. This measurement technique is expected to enhance the accuracy of sex estimation based on the mental eminence, particularly in the Korean population, where sexual dimorphism is less pronounced compared to foreign populations.