Comparative Anatomy of Man

In a nutshell, the comparative anatomy of man refers to the comparison of man, or say, human beings with other species such as apes, chimpanzees, animals, or any other primates. Human beings are animals with more intelligence than other species, and they possess an almost novel set of properties. In this Comparative anatomy of man study material, some anatomy comparison is discussed between man and other species. Moreover, this study is done by anthropologists to determine how we humans evolve.  

Comparative anatomy of man: Overview 

Anatomy is the branch of biology that deals with the in-depth study of the structure of living organisms. Here “comparative anatomy of man” means the study of human structure compared to other animals, including Apes and other non-apes mammals.

The anatomy of human beings depends directly on their environment and behaviour. Man’s current body structure relates completely to his ancestral bodies. Teeth, head, and body are the most recent ones to behave in this manner.

In Comparative the anatomy of man, we will study different organs of the human body, including the skull, pelvis, arms, legs, etc. Then we will compare those organs with the same organs of apes and other animals. 

Comparative anatomy of man: Face

Skull

Humans have a more prominent and elevated forehead due to their bigger brain size, and Apes do not have a forehead. Moreover, the human’s skull or, say, the brain is three times larger than other apes, including chimpanzees and monkeys. Compared to primates, the parietal and frontal tuberosities in the human skull grow more prominent. Moreover, the vault of the human skull is soft and curved, whereas other primates possess different characteristics. In comparative anatomy of man, chimps have a similar vault, Gorillas have pointed crests with a hard surface, while orangutans have fewer ridges.

Lower Jaw & teeth

The teeth of humans are weaker than apes or different species. It’s tough to tear the flash like any other primates or species, and human teeth are ‘U’ shaped. On the other hand, the primates like chimpanzees gorillas have solid and sharp teethes. In comparing humans, other species of apes and animals can easily tear the meat with their teeth.  

Other body parts

Nose- Man has a fully developed and tipped nose which bumps outside of the face alongside nasal solid wings. In contrast, Primates have a half-developed nose in most cases, and chimpanzees and other apes have a nose that isn’t tipped and pointed downwards.

Lips- human and apes’ lips are almost the same, and both are soft in appearance. However, in apes or similar species other than humans, their lips differ by one characteristic. They have protruding and loose lips attached to their bulging jaws. 

Comparative anatomy of man: Body

Spine

The bone marrow of humans is slightly flexible, and it allows them to be straight and still. Whereas, in other species, their spine is quite rough and inflexible, which disables them to stand still or bent as much as humans. This makes a difference in their entire upright structure.

Pelvis

The structure of the pelvis changes dramatically as a result of bipedal adaptation. The body’s weight must alternately be distributed over each leg when walking. The human pelvic has evolved adaptations that help with this balancing naturally. When apes walk on bipeds, they balance by waving their arms out over stance leg, causing them to bounce from side to side. As a result, they have more energy than humans.

Arms & Legs 

Arms- The arms of apes are very long; in turn, they prefer clinging and moving on branches. The top arms of apes act as moveable levers, so their length is short, but the lower arms of humans act as moveable levers, so their length is shorter.

Legs- When coming to legs, Apes have small, thick, bent thigh bones. On the other hand, humans have well-developed legs which are slim and long, allowing them to jump solely with legs. 

Comparative anatomy of man: Limbs and other body parts

Limbs – The consequence of walking upright and acquiring erect posture in humans is the most notable difference in the structure of human and apes’ feet & hands. The foot functions by bearing the body’s weight for vertical and upright structure, and hands move freely. Whereas most apes use the feet is for both movement and grabbing tree branches. Due to their not-straight structure, they use hands to balance their posture. 

Skin – animals other than humans have ample skin hairs to protect themselves; humans are pretty naked in that order.

Speech – Man distinguishes himself from apes primarily by articulating speech. However, some experts believe that apes employ some form of language.

Conclusion

From all the above, we discussed all aspects of the comparative anatomy of man. We came through comparing a human structure with different species, mainly apes. After discussing this comparative anatomy of man’s study material, we can now say that man possesses a novel set of homologous and analogous organs, which make it unique from any other species, including apes and animals.