Imaging skeletal growth and evolution

This chapter reviews the application of medical imaging and associated techniques to the study of primate skeletal ontogeny and phylogeny. Following a short discussion of plain film radiography and pluridirectional tomography, the principles and practical use of computed tomography (CT), micro-CT, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and high-resolution MRI are considered in more detail. Aspects discussed include, among others, the specific problems encountered when CT scanning highly mineralised fossils, and ways to avoid common image artefacts in MRI. The second half of the chapter gives an overview of techniques of three-dimensional reconstruction based on CT and MRI, quantitative analysis of images and some practical considerations of handling digital images in a personal computer environment. A glossary explains a range of common terms in medical imaging.