Pithecanthropus erectus

PITHECANTHROPUS ERECTUS

About 1.8 Ma, the first group of ancient human ancestors, Homo erectus, migrated from Africa to Eurasia(2014MatsubayashiK). As they spread, part of the population colonized the islands of Southwest Asia, in particular the Malay Archipelago. In 1891-1892, on the island of Java, Eugène Dubois (1858-1940) excavated the remains of an «old female» whom he named Pithecanthropus erectus (2004DeVosJ). Anthropologists also call this individual: Anthropopithecus erectus, Homo erectus, and Java Man (2000SwisherIIICC_LewinR; 2024PopE_SpoorF). The discovered skull fragment and molar allowed to reconstruct the appearance of Pithecanthropus erectus.

Early Pithecanthropus from Java Island (Sangiran-17), about 1 million years old, reconstruction by M.L. Butovskaya; State Darwin Museum (Moscow), photo by the author.

The soil layer that preserved the mentioned Homo erectus specimen is dated in the range from 0.54±0.10 to 0.43±0.05 Ma (2015JoordensJC_RoebroeksW). A notable component of the find was a fragment of the femur.

Femur and teeth of Pithecanthropus from Java Island; State Darwin Museum (Moscow), photo by the author.

At the same time, the fossil fragment had a huge ossification at the attachment site of the short adductor muscle, m. adductor brevis (sketchfab.com). Such benign neoplasms are usually the result of the replacement of hematoma or muscle tissue with fibrous tissue, which later transforms into bone tissue. Hemorrhage and calcification of the adductor muscle group in Java Man occurred either from a direct blow to the medial surface of the thigh or due to chronic microtraumatization with ruptures of muscle fibers. The latter variant appears in the literature as «adductor insertion avulsion syndrome» causing traction periostitis, a bone reaction to stress, and a hip fracture (2001Anderson MW_DussaultRG).

Pithecanthropus experienced pain and limited movement in the hip joint, which complicated stalking prey during hunting, climbing trees for fruit, and walking. Its ability to move on two pelvic limbs is evidenced by the fossa of the head of the femur - the attachment area of the ligamentum capitis femoris (LCF). Based on the size and depth of the femoral head fossa, the LCF of Pithecanthropus of Java was a powerful structure. It seems to us that it was adapted to withstand significant tensile (pulling out of the bone) loads when jumping and running during hunting.

Femoral head and fovea capitis of the Pithecanthropus of Java; State Darwin Museum (Moscow), photo by the author.

References

Matsubayashi K. Geriatric issues from the standpoint of human evolution. Geriatrics & Gerontology International. 2014;14(4)731-4. [pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov]

De Vos J. The Dubois collection: a new look at an old collection. Scripta Geologica. 2004;Special Issue,4:267-85. [repository.naturalis.nl]

Swisher III CC, Curtis GH, Lewin R. Java Man: How Two Geologists Changed Our Understanding of Human Evolution. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2000. [books.google]

Pop E, Noerwidi S, Spoor F. Naming Homo erectus: A review. Journal of Human Evolution. 2024;190:103516. [sciencedirect.com]

Joordens JC, d’Errico F, Wesselingh FP, Munro S, De Vos J, Wallinga J, ... Roebroeks W. Homo erectus at Trinil on Java used shells for tool production and engraving. Nature. 2015;518(7538)228-31. [nature.com]

Anderson MW, Kaplan PA, Dussault RG. Adductor insertion avulsion syndrome (thigh splints): spectrum of MR imaging features. AJR Am J Roentgenol. 2001;177:673-5. [ajronline.org]

Keywords

ligamentum capitis femoris, ligamentum teres, ligament of head of femur, doctrine, homo, pithecanthropus

The original text in Russian is available at the link: Pithecanthropus erectus

NB! Fair practice / use: copied for the purposes of criticism, review, comment, research and private study in accordance with Copyright Laws of the US: 17 U.S.C. §107; Copyright Law of the EU: Dir. 2001/29/EC, art.5/3a,d; Copyright Law of the RU: ГК РФ ст.1274/1.1-2,7

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The First Scientific Mention

European science has known the LCF for about 2500 years. It is the most important functional connection of the hip joint. The first person to describe the LCF was Hippocrates (c. 460-370 BCE). A written mention of the LCF is found in §1 of his treatise "On the Instrument of redactions". In our opinion, a book created in the library of the Asclepeion of the island of Kos. Hippocrates did not dissection of the human body, did not operate on the hip joint, did not have a CT scan and MRI. How he could discover the LCF? In our view, it is possible that Hippocrates treated a patient with an open hip dislocation. Track Music: Blue Dot Sessions , Vittoro (CC BY-NC 4.0 DEED / fragment) keywords: ligamentum capitis femoris, ligament of head of femur, ligamentum teres, hip dislocation . ...

LCF in English Bibles

The primary source for translating the Bible into English is the Hebrew literary monument Torah. In its first part, the Book of Bereshit (32:33 ) , there is a mention of ligamentum capitis femoris (LCF), which in Hebrew is called « גיד » (gheed, gid) (1923, 2004PreussJ; 2019ArkhipovSV_SkvortsovDV; 2020ArkhipovSV_ProlyginaIV). Probably one of the earliest written translations of the Bible into Old English was made by Ælfric of Eynsham, who worked approximately between 955–1010 CE (1050Aelfric’s). In Aelfric's Anglo-Saxon Paraphrase, the Hebrew concept of « גיד » [gheed], that is, LCF, is mentioned twice in the 25th and 32nd verses of the XXXII Chapter of the Book of Genesis and is called «sine» ( Figure 1, 2 ). In Middle English, translators Nicholas of Hereford and John Wycliffe named LCF as «synwe», and in John Purvey's Bible edition - «senewe» (1850ForshallJ_MaddenF). In Bibles in Early Modern English, LCF is designated as «senow» and «senowe» (1530TyndaleW; 1535CoverdaleM; 1...

Catalog. Classifications of LCF Pathology

The classifications are intended to systematize of ligamentum capitis femoris pathology and assist in the development of general approaches to its description, registration, analysis and treatment. Keywords ligamentum capitis femoris, ligamentum teres, ligament of head of femur, hip joint, histology, pathological anatomy, pathology, trauma INTRODUCTION In Russia, the initial attempts to classify pathology of the ligamentum capitis femoris (LCF) were made by morphologists. The development of arthroscopic surgery has made it possible to identify various, previously undescribed types of LCF pathology, which prompted the development of various modern classifications based on intraoperative observations. Analysis of literature data and our own morphological observations allowed us to propose a General Classification of the Ligamentum Teres Pathology, which has the form of a collection of classifiers, as well as a Classification of Functions of the Ligamentum Teres. The ...

University_of_Guelph(website)

Content [i] Annotation [ii] Original text [iii] Illustrations [iv] Source & links [v] Notes [vi] Authors & Affiliations [vii] Keywords [i] Annotation A quote from an article on the University of Guelph website. The publication mentions the animal's ligamentum capitis femoris (LCF) and states its function: fixing the femoral head in the acetabulum. The text in Russian is available at the following link: University_of_Guelph(website) . [ii] Original text Quote 1. Hindlimb skeleton. Femur [animals] The articular head of the femur is deeply rounded and it bears a round ligament that holds it into the acetabulum. [iii] Illustrations – [iv] Source & links STRUCTURE OF THE SKELETON. 2023. animalbiosciences.uoguelph.ca [v] Notes The work is cited in the following publications: [vi] Authors & Affiliations Unive...

BIOMECHANICS OF THE HIP JOINT WITHOUT LCF

Biomechanics of the hip joint without LCF Do you remember the comparison of the ligamentum teres with the spring element of a cart? ( 1874SavoryWS ). An analogy could arise after reading the book Bell J. The Principles of Surgery (1801) . Most orthopedists still think so. For more details see: https://roundligament.blogspot.com/2024/04/1836-1840partridger.html & 1836-1840PartridgeR (remembering the history of orthopedics) #ligamentum_teres #ligamentum_capitis_femoris #hip #biomechanics Publication in the facebook group 03/28/2025. ...

The Shortest Comments on Genesis, Chap. XXXII-XXXIII

The chosen fragment records ancient views on the symptoms, mechanism, and differential diagnosis of ligamentum capitis femoris (LCF) injury. The author describes the emotional status, work capacity of the patient, circumstances, time, and place of the injury, as a physician in the modern medical record (Genesis 32:8-33:20). Further in the text, apparently, a pathoanatomical investigation is mentioned, confirming the antemortem diagnosis, place of dissection (Genesis 50:2-3), as well as the location of the burial of embalmed remains (Genesis 50:13). Our comments on chapters 32-33 are presented in the table. The quotes are based on the translation of the Book of Bereshit (Genesis) from Hebrew by Isaac Leeser (1922). The shortest comments Quotes from the original source Emotional status and the name of injured person. 32:8 Then Jacob was greatly afraid, and he felt distress...

Tweet of December 19, 2025

Edwin Smith Papyrus vis-à-vis Book of Genesis A correspondence was found between the level of medical knowledge in the Edwin Smith Papyrus and the Book of Genesis; they were written during the same historical period. see: https://kruglayasvyazka.blogspot.com/2025/11/lcf-1.html Tweet of December 19, 2025 #Edwin_Smith_Papyrus #Genesis #Book_of_Genesis #Ancient_Egypt BLOG CONTENT TWITTER OR X

The Birth of the Earth

The Birth of the Earth The solar system arose 4.5682-4.567 billion years ago (2013HazenRM). It has been found with an accuracy of 1% that the substance of the "Earth-Moon-meteorite" complex is 4.55-4.51 billion years old (2001DalrympleGB). The outlined segment is the immediate beginning of the arrangement of our Home in the Universe. One of the most important conditions for the emergence of life is liquid water (2002ChybaCF_PhillipsCB). Analysis of lithosphere particles aged 4406 (+14/-17) million years showed that they crystallized under conditions of increased water pressure (2012O'NeilJ_FrancisD). Accordingly, moisture was present no later than 160 million years after the "establishment" of the planet. The explanation for this is the proven presence of water in the accretion disk of the newborn Sun, which the Earth could have received in a volume equivalent to one to three oceans (2005DrakeMJ). According to a conservative estimate, half of the Earth's w...

THE OLDEST LCF

The very first four-legged animal, the lobe-finned fish Tiktaalik roseae, lived about 375 million years ago. Based on indirect evidence (paired notches of the acetabulum), we believe that in the hip joint it had two ligaments of the head of femur, in Latin called ligamentum capitis femoris (LCF). A similar anatomy of the hip joint is preserved in the salamander. Illustration Tiktaalik roseae is the first animal to have a LCF A) 3D model of the right pelvic bone of the fish Tiktaalik roseae (fragment of a screenshot: media.hhmi.org ), where we depicted the dissected anterior LCF (lig.cap.fem.ant.) and posterior LCF (lig.cap.fem.post.), that are attached to the corresponding notches of the acetabulum ( inc.ac.ant. & inc.ac.post.). Below the pelvis is a photograph of our model of the Tiktaalik roseae femur with fragments of two LCFs (a fossil femur of Tiktaalik roseae has not yet been discovered). B) View of a salamander femur with a proximal fragment of the ilia...

The First Open Reconstruction

The first open reconstruction of the ligamentum capitis femoris (LCF) was performed in 1926 by Ernest William Hey Groves (1872-1944) (1927Hey-GrovesEW). The surgery was proposed for the treatment of congenital hip dislocation in children. Later, in 1928, regarding this pathology, he noted: «Congential dislocation of the hip is a deformity which is mysterious in its origin, insidious in its course and relentless in its final crippling results» (quoted from 1983RatliffAH). In the early 20th century, a pioneer in orthopedic surgery realized that the LCF played a crucial role in the development of this pathology and developed a technique for its reconstruction. Illustration: Open reconstruction of the LCF in congenital hip dislocation. Copies of drawings from 1927Hey-GrovesEW with our additions; arrows indicate the reconstructed LCF. . ...

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