Vertebrate Skeletal Histology and Paleohistology

"… the most ambitious and comprehensive survey of bone paleohistology, designed to be relevant to those working on extant species too. There is no other book on the subject anywhere close to it in its broad scope.It is wonderful to see a field that flourishes based on new information and careful consideration of the biology and taphonomy of the evidence.This book hopefully stimulates by its sheer size and scope ..."Marcelo R. Sánchez-Villagra in Swiss Journal of Palaeontology, v. 141, 2022"The texts … are very good, of course, but the illustrations are outstanding. There is so much information presented … that a proper summary of their contents would be a book in itself. … the greatest value of the book comes from the sheer number of photographs and other images of thin sections of different bone tissues …"James Farlow in Priscum e-newsletter of the Paleontological Society, Feb 2023.

• Foreword. Contributors. I: INTRODUCTION. Paleohistology: An Historical – Bibliographical Introduction. II: MORPHOLOGY AND HISTOLOGY OF THE SKELETON. An Overview of the Embryonic Development of the Bony Skeleton. The Vertebrate Skeleton: A Brief Introduction. Methodological Focus A: The New Scalpel: Basic Aspects of CT-Scan Imaging. Microanatomical Features of Bones and Their Basic Measurement. Methodological Focus B: Basic Aspects of 3D Histomorphometry. Bone Cells and Organic Matrix. Current Concepts of the Mineralization of Type I Collagen in Vertebrate Tissues. An Overview of Cartilage Histology. Methodological Focus C: Virtual (Paleo-)Histology Through Synchrotron Imaging. Bone Tissue Types: A Brief Account of Currently Used Categories. Methodological Focus D: FIB-SEM Dual-Beam Microscopy for Three-Dimensional Ultrastructural Imaging of Skeletal Tissues. III: DYNAMIC PROCESSES IN OSSEOUS FORMATIONS. Basic Processes in Bone Growth. Accretion Rate and Histological Features of Bone. Bone Remodeling. Remarks on Metaplastic Processes in the Skeleton. IV: TEETH. Histology of Dental Hard Tissues. V: PHYLOGENETIC DIVERSITY OF SKELETAL TISSUES. Introduction. Finned Vertebrates. Early Tetrapodomorphs. Lissamphibia. Early Amniotes and Their Close Relatives. Testudines. Lepidosauria. Sauropterygia: Placodontia. Sauropterygia: Nothosauria and Pachypleurosauria. Sauropterygia: Histology of Plesiosauria. Ichthyosauria. Archosauromorpha: From Early Diapsids to Archosaurs. Archosauromorpha: The Crocodylomorpha. Archosauromorpha: Avemetatarsalia – Dinosaurs and Their Relatives. Nonmammalian Synapsids. Diversity of Bone Microstructure in Mammals. VI: INTEGRATIVE QUESTIONS. Phylogenetic Signal in Bone Histology. Cyclical Growth and Skeletochronology. Aging and Senescence Processes in the Skeleton. Basic Principles and Methodologies in Measuring Bone Biomechanics. Interpreting Mechanical Function in Extant and Fossil Long Bones. Bone Microanatomy and Lifestyle in Tetrapods. Bone Histology and the Adaptation to Aquatic Life in Tetrapods. Bone Histology and Thermal Physiology. Bone Ornamentation: Deciphering the Functional Meaning of an Enigmatic Feature. The Histology of Skeletal Tissues as a Tool in Paleoanthropological and Archaeological Investigations. A Methodological Renaissance to Advance Perennial Issues in Vertebrate Paleohistology. Extended Table of Contents.