The DOI matches its Crossref record; 43 of the 43 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
Ecogeographic variation in human nasal passages
Abstract
Theoretically, individuals whose ancestors evolved in cold and/or dry climates should have greater nasal mucosal surface area relative to air volume of the nasal passages than individuals whose ancestors evolved in warm, humid climates. A high surface-area-to-volume (SA/V) ratio allows relatively more air to come in contact with the mucosa and facilitates more efficient heat and moisture exchange during inspiration and expiration, which would be adaptive in a cold, dry environment. Conversely, a low SA/V ratio is not as efficient at recapturing heat and moisture during expiration and allows for better heat dissipation, which would be adaptive in a warm, humid environment. To test this hypothesis, cross-sectional measurements of the nasal passages that reflect surface area and volume were collected from a sample of CT scans of patients of European and African ancestry. Results indicate that individuals of European descent do have higher SA/V ratios than individuals of African descent, but only when decongested. Otherwise, the two groups show little difference. This pattern of variation may be due to selection for different SA/V configurations during times of physical exertion, which has been shown to elicit decongestion. Relationships between linear measurements of the skeletal nasal aperture and cavity and cross-sectional dimensions were also examined. Contrary to predictions, the nasal index, the ratio of nasal breadth to nasal height, is not strongly correlated with internal dimensions. However, differences between the nasal indices of the two groups are highly significant. These results may be indicative of different adaptive solutions to the same problem.
Overview
Integrity signals
Registry
Cites
Statistics
Verification
Claims the paper makes
Claims other papers make about this one
Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?
In the citing paper
“Previously, several studies have shown that the shapes of the nasal aperture and nasal cavity are correlated with climate variables related to temperature and humidity such that individuals from cold-dry climates exhibit narrower nasal cavities compared to individuals from warm-humid climates [41,42].”
From Investigating the case of human nose shape and climate adaptation (2017) · cites this paper as [41]
In the citing paper
“While our findings provide support for the idea that differences in aspects of nose shape may have evolved across populations as a result of climate-related selection pressures, something that has been demonstrated previously using craniometric data [2,12,13,41,42]”
From Investigating the case of human nose shape and climate adaptation (2017) · cites this paper as [41]
Citations
Cites
Martin, R. (1957) · Medical Entomology and Zoology · Cited by 1,774
Adult Chronic Rhinosinusitis: Definitions, Diagnosis, Epidemiology, and Pathophysiology
Benninger, M. S., Ferguson, B. J., Hadley, J. A., Hamilos, D. L., Jacobs, M. R., Kennedy, D. W., Lanza, D. C., Marple, B. F., Osguthorpe, J. D., Stankiewicz, J. A., et al. (2003) · Otolaryngology · doi:10.1016/s0194-5998(03)01397-4 · Cited by 945
Estimating African American Admixture Proportions by Use of Population-Specific Alleles
Parra, E. J., Marcini, A., Akey, J., Martinson, J., Batzer, M. A., Cooper, R., Forrester, T., Allison, D. B., Deka, R., Ferrell, R. E., et al. (1998) · The American Journal of Human Genetics · doi:10.1086/302148 · Cited by 771
Morphological adaptation to climate in modern and fossil hominids
Ruff, C. B. (1994) · American Journal of Physical Anthropology · doi:10.1002/ajpa.1330370605 · Cited by 684
Editors and Reviewers: Supporting Peer‐Review Publishing
Benninger, M. S. (2003) · Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery · doi:10.1053/hn.2003.v128.amhn0312811 · Cited by 557
The Nose, upper airway physiology and the atmospheric environment
Proctor, D. F., & Andersen, I. (1982) · Elsevier eBooks · Cited by 513
Canonical and principal components of shape
Darroch, J. N., & Mosimann, J. E. (1985) · Biometrika · doi:10.1093/biomet/72.2.241 · Cited by 490
Schmidt‐Nielsen, K. (1972) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/cbo9781139167543 · Cited by 242
Studies on the conditioning of air in the respiratory tract.
Ingelstedt, S. (1956) · PubMed · Cited by 237
Heat and water exchange in the respiratory tract
Walker, J. E., & Wells, R. E. (1961) · The American Journal of Medicine · doi:10.1016/0002-9343(61)90097-3 · Cited by 234
Flagged first, then by citations
Research works printed but not linked: 11
- Cole P, 1982, The nose: upper airway physiology and the atmospheric environment, 351
- Cole P, 1982, The nose: upper airway physiology and the atmospheric environment, 162
- Davies A, 1932, A resurvey of the nose in relation to climate, J R Anthropol Inst, 62, 337
- Franciscus RG, 2003, Comparing internal nasal fossa dimensions and classical measures of the external nasal skeleton in recent humans: inferences for respiratory airflow dynamics and climatic adaptation, Am J Phys Anthropol Suppl, 36, 96
- Scott JH, 1953, The comparative anatomy and function of the maxillary turbinate, J Anat, 87, 461
- Seeley LE, 1940, Temperature and water vapour content of respired air in the nasal cavity, Heat Piping Air Cond, 12, 377
- Sokal RR, 1995, Biometry
- Spoor F, 2000, Development, growth, and evolution: implications for the study of the hominid skeleton, 123
- Swift DL, 1977, Respiratory defense mechanisms, part I, 63
- van Dishoeck HAE, 1965, The part of the valve and turbinates in total nasal resistance, Rhinology, 3, 19
- Yokley TR, 2005, Variation in nasal passage surface‐area‐to‐volume ratios of recent and fossil humans, PaleoAnthropology, 12
Cited by
Sorted by citations
Items 101–105 of 105
Holliday, T. W., & Cowgill, L. W. (2026) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/9781316756492.019
Cowgill, L. W., & Maddux, S. D. (2026) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/9781316756492.017
Maddux, S. D., & Franciscus, R. G. (2026) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/9781316756492.005
Bastir, M., Pérez‐Ramos, A., Sanz‐Prieto, D., & Rosas, A. (2026) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/9781316756492.007
Karagöz, T., & Bennett, W. (2026) · European Archives of Oto-Rhino-Laryngology · doi:10.1007/s00405-026-10609-x
Metadata
- Authors
- Yokley, T. R.
- Affiliations
- Touro University Nevada (US)
- Corresponding author
- Yokley, Todd R.
- Venue
- American Journal of Physical Anthropology
- Publisher
- Wiley
- Published
- 2008-07-11
- Volume
- 138
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 11-22
- ISSN
- 0002-9483 (ISSN-L)
- 1096-8644
- OpenAlex
- W2080225265
- Cited by
- 105
- References
- 43
- Citations by year
- 2026: 6 · 2025: 5 · 2024: 5 · 2023: 3 · 2022: 6 · 2021: 9 · 2020: 3 · 2019: 6 · 2018: 10 · 2017: 4 · 2016: 14 · 2015: 9 · 2014: 6 · 2013: 8 · 2012: 2
- FWCI
- 3.16
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- American Journal of Physical Anthropology (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Surgery › Nasal Surgery and Airway Studies
- Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics › Morphological variations and asymmetry
- Social Sciences › Arts and Humanities › Archeology (arts and humanities) › Forensic Anthropology and Bioarchaeology Studies
- Keywords
- nasal passages, nasal mucosa, surface-to-volume ratio, climate change adaptation, nasal index, nasal cavity dimensions, nasal aperture, nasal decongestion, physical exertion
- MeSH terms
- Inhalation, Ecology, Ethmoid Bone, Geography, Humans, Humidity, Nose, Tomography, X-Ray Computed, Turbinates, Black People, White People, Exhalation
About these checks
Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.
Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.
Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.
What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›
Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review
