{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,2,13]],"date-time":"2026-02-13T06:25:26Z","timestamp":1770963926629,"version":"3.50.1"},"reference-count":36,"publisher":"The Company of Biologists","issue":"19","content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":[],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2008,10,1]]},"abstract":"<jats:title>SUMMARY<\/jats:title><jats:p>Frontal sinuses in goats and other mammals have been hypothesized to function as shock absorbers, protecting the brain from blows during intraspecific combat. Furthermore, sinuses are thought to form through removal of `structurally unnecessary' bone. These hypotheses were tested using finite element modeling. Three-dimensional models of domesticated goat (Capra hircus) skulls were constructed, with variable frontal bone and frontal sinus morphology, and loaded to simulate various head-butting behaviors. In general, models with sinuses experienced higher strain energy values (a proxy for shock absorption) than did models with unvaulted frontal bones, and the latter often had higher magnitudes than models with solid vaulted frontal bones. Furthermore, vaulted frontal bones did not reduce magnitudes of principal strain on the surface of the endocranial cavity relative to models with unvaulted frontal bones under most loading conditions. Thus, these results were only partially consistent with sinuses, or the bone that walls the sinuses, acting as shock absorbers. It is hypothesized that the keratinous horn sheaths and cranial sutures are probably more important for absorbing blows to the head. Models with sinuses did exhibit a more `efficient'distribution of stresses, as visualized by histograms in which models with solid frontal bones had numerous unloaded elements. This is consistent with the hypothesis that sinuses result at least in part from the removal of mechanically unnecessary bone.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1242\/jeb.019042","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2008,9,19]],"date-time":"2008-09-19T08:58:48Z","timestamp":1221814728000},"page":"3085-3094","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":104,"title":["Frontal sinuses and head-butting in goats: a finite element analysis"],"prefix":"10.1242","volume":"211","author":[{"given":"Andrew A.","family":"Farke","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Anatomical Sciences, Stony Brook University, NY 11794-8081,USA"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"237","reference":[{"key":"2021042511540761300_REF1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Alvarez, F. (1990). Horns and fighting in male Spanish ibex, Capra pyrenaica.J. Mammal.71,608-616.","DOI":"10.2307\/1381801"},{"key":"2021042511540761300_REF2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Ashman, R. B., Rho, J. Y. and Turner, C. H.(1989). Anatomical variation of orthotropic elastic moduli of the proximal human tibia. J. Biomech.22,895-900.","DOI":"10.1016\/0021-9290(89)90073-0"},{"key":"2021042511540761300_REF3","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Behrents, R. G., Carlson, D. S. and Abdelnour, T.(1978). In vivo analysis of bone strain about the sagittal suture in Macaca mulatta during masticatory movements. J. Dent. Res.57,904-908.","DOI":"10.1177\/00220345780570091401"},{"key":"2021042511540761300_REF4","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Dumont, E. R., Piccirillo, J. and Grosse, I. R.(2005). Finite-element analysis of biting behavior and bone stress in the facial skeletons of bats. Anat. Rec.283A,319-330.","DOI":"10.1002\/ar.a.20165"},{"key":"2021042511540761300_REF5","unstructured":"Edinger, T. (1950). Frontal sinus evolution(particularly in the Equidae). Bull. Mus. Comp. Zool. Harvard103,411-496."},{"key":"2021042511540761300_REF6","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Farke, A. A. (2007). Morphology, constraints,and scaling of frontal sinuses in the hartebeest, Alcelaphus buselaphus (Mammalia: Artiodactyla, Bovidae). J. Morphol.268,243-253.","DOI":"10.1002\/jmor.10511"},{"key":"2021042511540761300_REF7","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Forster, C. A. (1996). New information on the skull of Triceratops.J. Vert. Paleontol.16,246-258.","DOI":"10.1080\/02724634.1996.10011312"},{"key":"2021042511540761300_REF8","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Geist, V. (1966). The evolutionary significance of mountain sheep horns. Evolution20,558-566.","DOI":"10.1111\/j.1558-5646.1966.tb03386.x"},{"key":"2021042511540761300_REF9","unstructured":"Gurdjian, E. S. (1975). Re-evaluation of the biomechanics of blunt impact injury of the head. Surg. Gynecol. Obstet.140,845-850."},{"key":"2021042511540761300_REF10","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Herring, S. W. and Teng, S. (2000). Strain in the braincase and its sutures during function. Am. J. Phys. Anthropol.112,575-593.","DOI":"10.1002\/1096-8644(200008)112:4<575::AID-AJPA10>3.0.CO;2-0"},{"key":"2021042511540761300_REF11","unstructured":"Hibbeler, R. C. (1997). Mechanics of Materials. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall."},{"key":"2021042511540761300_REF12","unstructured":"Jaslow, C. R. (1987). A functional analysis of skull design in the Caprini. Ph.D. Thesis, University of Chicago, USA."},{"key":"2021042511540761300_REF13","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Jaslow, C. R. (1990). Mechanical properties of cranial sutures. J. Biomech.23,313-321.","DOI":"10.1016\/0021-9290(90)90059-C"},{"key":"2021042511540761300_REF14","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Jaslow, C. R. and Biewener, A. A. (1995). Strain patterns in the horncores, cranial bones and sutures of goats(Capra hircus) during impact loading. J. Zool.235,193-210.","DOI":"10.1111\/j.1469-7998.1995.tb05137.x"},{"key":"2021042511540761300_REF15","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Kitchener, A. C. (1987). Fracture toughness of horns and a reinterpretation of the horning behaviour of bovids. J. Zool. (Lond.)213,621-639.","DOI":"10.1111\/j.1469-7998.1987.tb03730.x"},{"key":"2021042511540761300_REF16","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Kitchener, A. C. (1988). An analysis of fighting of the blackbuck (Antilope cervicapra) and the bighorn sheep(Ovis canadensis) and the mechanical design of the horns of bovids. J. Zool.214,1-20.","DOI":"10.1111\/j.1469-7998.1988.tb04983.x"},{"key":"2021042511540761300_REF17","unstructured":"Kitchener, A. C. (1991). The evolution and mechanical design of horns and antlers. In Biomechanics in Evolution (ed. J. M. V. Rayner and R. J. Wootton), pp.229-253. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press."},{"key":"2021042511540761300_REF18","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Levy, M. L., Ozgur, B. M., Berry, C., Aryan, H. E. and Apuzzo,M. L. J. (2004). Birth and evolution of the football helmet. Neurosurgery55,656-661.","DOI":"10.1227\/01.NEU.0000134599.01917.AA"},{"key":"2021042511540761300_REF19","unstructured":"McDonald, J. N. (1981). North American Bison: Their Classification and Evolution. Berkeley:University of California Press."},{"key":"2021042511540761300_REF20","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"McHenry, C. R., Clausen, P. D., Daniel, W. J. T., Meers, M. B. and Pendharkar, A. (2006). Biomechanics of the rostrum in crocodilians: A comparative analysis using finite-element modeling. Anat. Rec.288A,827-849.","DOI":"10.1002\/ar.a.20360"},{"key":"2021042511540761300_REF21","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Metzger, K. A., Daniel, W. J. T. and Ross, C. F.(2005). Comparison of beam theory and finite-element analysis with in vivo bone strain data from the alligator cranium. Anat. Rec.283A,331-348.","DOI":"10.1002\/ar.a.20167"},{"key":"2021042511540761300_REF22","unstructured":"Molnar, R. E. (1977). Analogies in the evolution of combat and display structures in ornithopods and ungulates. Evol. Theory3,165-190."},{"key":"2021042511540761300_REF23","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Preuschoft, H., Witte, H. and Witzel, W.(2002). Pneumatized spaces, sinuses and spongy bones in the skulls of primates. Anthropol. Anz.60, 67-79.","DOI":"10.1127\/anthranz\/60\/2002\/67"},{"key":"2021042511540761300_REF24","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Radhakrishnan, P. and Mao, J. J. (2004). Nanomechanical properties of facial sutures and sutural mineralization front. J. Dent. Res.83,470-475.","DOI":"10.1177\/154405910408300607"},{"key":"2021042511540761300_REF25","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Rayfield, E. J. (2005). Aspects of comparative cranial mechanics in the theropod dinosaurs Coelophysis, Allosaurus and Tyrannosaurus.Zool. J. Linn. Soc.144,309-316.","DOI":"10.1111\/j.1096-3642.2005.00176.x"},{"key":"2021042511540761300_REF26","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Rayfield, E. J., Milner, A. C., Xuan, V. B. and Young, P. G.(2007). Functional morphology of spinosaur `crocodile-mimic'dinosaurs. J. Vert. Paleontol.27,892-901.","DOI":"10.1671\/0272-4634(2007)27[892:FMOSCD]2.0.CO;2"},{"key":"2021042511540761300_REF27","unstructured":"Roux, W. (1881). Der zu\u0308chtende Kampf der Teile, oder die \u201cTeilauslese\u201d im Organismus (Theorie der\u201cfunktionellen Anpassung\u201d). Leipzig: Wilhelm Engelmann."},{"key":"2021042511540761300_REF28","unstructured":"Schaffer, W. M. and Reed, C. A. (1972). The co-evolution of social behavior and cranial morphology in sheep and goats(Bovidae, Caprini). Fieldiana61, 1-88."},{"key":"2021042511540761300_","unstructured":"Sinclair, A. R. E. (1977). The African Buffalo: A Study of Resource Limitation of Populations. Chicago: University of Chicago Press."},{"key":"2021042511540761300_REF30","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Strait, D. S., Wang, Q., Dechow, P. C., Ross, C. F., Richmond,B. G., Spencer, M. A. and Patel, B. A. (2005). Modeling elastic properties in finite-element analysis: how much precision is needed to produce an accurate model? Anat. Rec.283A,275-287.","DOI":"10.1002\/ar.a.20172"},{"key":"2021042511540761300_REF31","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Strait, D. S., Richmond, B. G., Spencer, M. A., Ross, C. F.,Dechow, P. C. and Wood, B. A. (2007). Masticatory biomechanics and its relevance to early hominid phylogeny: An examination of palatal thickness using finite-element analysis. J. Hum. Evol.52,585-599.","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jhevol.2006.11.019"},{"key":"2021042511540761300_REF32","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Van Rietbergen, B., Huiskes, R., Eckstein, F. and Ru\u0308egsegger, P. (2003). Trabecular bone tissue strains in the healthy and osteoporotic human femur. J. Bone Miner. Res.18,1781-1788.","DOI":"10.1359\/jbmr.2003.18.10.1781"},{"key":"2021042511540761300_REF33","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Wang, Q., Strait, D. S. and Dechow, P. C.(2006). A comparison of cortical elastic properties in the craniofacial skeletons of three primate species and its relevance to the study of human evolution. J. Hum. Evol.51,375-382.","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jhevol.2006.04.010"},{"key":"2021042511540761300_REF34","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Weidenreich, F. (1941). The brain and its role in the phylogenetic transformation of the human skull. Proc. Am. Philos. Soc.31,320-442.","DOI":"10.2307\/1005610"},{"key":"2021042511540761300_","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Willemen, M. A., Jacobs, M. W. and Schamhardt, H. C.(1999). In vitro transmission and attenuation of impact vibrations in the distal forelimb. Equine Vet. J.Suppl. 30, 245-248.","DOI":"10.1111\/j.2042-3306.1999.tb05227.x"},{"key":"2021042511540761300_REF36","unstructured":"Witmer, L. M. (1997). The evolution of the antorbital cavity of archosaurs: a study in soft-tissue reconstruction in the fossil record with an analysis of the function of pneumaticity. Soc. Vert. Paleontol. Mem.3, 1-73."}],"container-title":["Journal of Experimental Biology"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"http:\/\/journals.biologists.com\/jeb\/article-pdf\/211\/19\/3085\/1263125\/3085.pdf","content-type":"application\/pdf","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"syndication"},{"URL":"http:\/\/journals.biologists.com\/jeb\/article-pdf\/211\/19\/3085\/1263125\/3085.pdf","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2021,9,16]],"date-time":"2021-09-16T20:12:58Z","timestamp":1631823178000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/journals.biologists.com\/jeb\/article\/211\/19\/3085\/18260\/Frontal-sinuses-and-head-butting-in-goats-a-finite"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2008,10,1]]},"references-count":36,"journal-issue":{"issue":"19","published-print":{"date-parts":[[2008,10,1]]}},"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1242\/jeb.019042","relation":{},"ISSN":["1477-9145","0022-0949"],"issn-type":[{"value":"1477-9145","type":"electronic"},{"value":"0022-0949","type":"print"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2008,10,1]]}}}