1,721,157 research outputs found
A case of sclerosing bone dysplasia from 16th century Sardinia: Camurati-Engelmann disease?
Full text linkThe skeletal remains of a male aged 45-55 years displaying several bone anomalies were unearthed from the Alghero plague cemetery “lo Quarter”, a burial site dating back to the 1582-1583 AD outbreak. The skeleton is characterised by marked thickening of the cranial vault and a symmetrical enlargement of the diaphyses of the long bones of the upper and lower limbs. The metaphyses appear to be involved, while the epiphyses are spared. X-rays and Computed Tomography showed increased irregular cortical thickness and narrowing of the medullary cavity. The individual was affected by a sclerosing bone dysplasia, a genetic disease characterised by increased bone density. Sclerosing bone dysplasias are rare genetic diseases whose variety makes the clinical diagnosis challenging; in our case the mature age of the individual, with evident signs of late stage of the disease, helped us identifying the disorder. Differential diagnosis allowed to suggest a possible case of Camurati-Engelmann disease, also known as progressive diaphyseal dysplasia. It is an autosomal-dominant condition caused by mutations within the transforming growth factor-β1 (TGFβ1) gene on chromosome 19q13, characterized by anomalies in intramembranous bone formation. It is a very rare disorder, and approximately 200 cases have been reported in the modern clinical English literature. The individual from Alghero should be symptomatic, since he is likely to have experienced the most common clinical symptoms, such as pain in the limbs and fatigability, and to have had an unusual gait. The case from Alghero represents the unique paleopathological evidence of Camurati-Engelmann disease so far diagnosed
Personalized Medicine and ICT in Paediatric Cancer: Proof of Principle in Paediatric Neuroblastoma
No full textPartial cranial trephination by means of Hippocrates’ τρύπανον (trypanon) on a 5th century BC skeleton from the western necropolis of the Greek colony of Himera (Sicily, Italy).
No full textThe paper deals with a new case of partial cranial trephination found in one of the necropolises of the Greek
colony of Himera in Sicily. It is one of the very few cases of cranial trephination of Greek classical age.
Macroscopic as well as radiological investigations prove that the operation was perimortal as no growth of new
bone could be detected, SEM-EDS microanalysis of the piece revealed the traces left by the tool used during
trephination. The review of ancient Greek and Latin medical and surgical texts permitted us to establish that
the tool used in Himera was a trypanon mentioned by Hippocrates and named terebra by Latin author
A severe case of bilateral humerus varus deformity from the Middle Bronze age necropolis of Olmo di Nogara, Northeast Italy. The contribution of biomechanical analysis to paleopathological study
Full text linkObjective: To gain insights on possible impairment of a Middle Bronze Age individual with bilateral humerus varus buried with a sword in Northeastern Italy. Materials: A skeleton of a 40-50-year-old male from Olmo di Nogara (Italy) compared to other males from the same necropolis and to Neolithic and Iron Age samples from Italy. Methods: Macroscopic/X-rays analysis for pathological diagnosis and cross-sectional geometric analysis. Results: Both humeri of the individual appear short with destruction of the humeral heads, showing severe osteoarthrosis and flattening of the scapular glenoid cavities. The individual showed appreciable humeral bilateral asymmetry; there is no evidence for sustained immobilization. Conclusions: The pathological modifications suggest a diagnosis of bilateral humeral varism probably following an injury at birth. The individual's life was likely not significantly affected, as evidence suggests that he remained active and possibly used weapons. Significance: Biomechanical analyses provided a useful tool to reconstruct the life of the subject within the community, showing that this individual's apparent upper limb abnormalities did not exempt him from a role as a warrior and highlighting the importance of the warrior identity in this Bronze Age society. Limitations: The complex interaction between epiphyseal damage and shortening of the humerus makes it difficult to assess activity patterns. Only severe impairment leading to long-term immobilization can be excluded for this individual. Suggestions for Further Research: Cross-sectional geometry may be used in other cases of humerus varus or bone dysplasia to investigate functional impairment
Humeral greater tuberosity osteolysis as a complication of intraosseous calcification migration: Natural history depicted by imaging
Full text linkMigration of calcification within the bone leading to greater tuberosity osteolysis is a peculiar complication of the calcifying tendinitis of the rotator cuff. The case of a 38-year-old woman complaining of right shoulder pain, which had been going on for one year, is hereby described. The evolution of the infraspinatus tendon calcifying tendinitis leading to osteolysis of the greater tuberosity of the humerus is depicted by imaging and, particularly, by the MR and CT features changing over time. In this paper we focus on the importance of both MR and CT exams in the diagnostic process of the different phases of the disease. The correlation between clinical symptoms and imaging features is also helpful for imaging interpretation: the most painful phase corresponds to the migration of the calcification, whereas pain tends to decrease when the osteolysis develops. Awareness of the existence of this condition may prevent unnecessary invasive procedures. (www.actabiomedica.it)
Are there marrow cavities in Pleistocene elephant limb bones, and was marrow available to early humans? New CT scan results from the site of Castel di Guido (Italy)
Full text linkCT-scan analyses were carried out on limb bones of straight-tusked elephants (Palaeoloxodon antiquus)from the Middle Pleistocene site of Castel di Guido (Italy), where bifaces made of elephant bone were found in association with lithics and a large number of intentionally modified bone remains of elephants and other taxa. CT-scans show that marrow cavities are present within the limb bones of this taxon. Though rather small compared to the size of the bones, these cavities suggest that bone raw material procurement may not have been the unique goal of intentional elephant bone fracturing, and the marrow may also have been extracted for consumption
Cautery in medieval surgery: a unique palaeopathological case
No full textCautery is a fundamental tool in the ancient and medieval surgery. We read in the Aphorisms of Hippocrates: "Those diseases which medicines do not cure, iron (the knife?) cures; those which iron cannot cure, fire cures; and those which fire cannot cure, are to be reckoned wholly incurable". This sentence of the Father of Medicine was made its own by Roman Medicine and then by the Byzantine and Islamic surgical practice in the Middles Ages. However, bioarchaeological human remains that testify the use of the cautery are extremely rare.
We present a unique, original case, dating back to the 11th century, recently discovered on the mummy of a Saint venerated in Lucca (central Italy). The mummified body of St. Davinus Armenian has been preserved for about 1000 years in the Basilica of San Michele in Foro in Lucca (central Italy). In the hagiographic sources, we read that Davinus, left from Armenian Kingdom, arrived in Lucca in the year 1050, after a long pilgrimage to Jerusalem and Rome. He died in a hospital annexed to the church of San Michele during a stop of the pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela. The veneration of the body is already attested in the 11th-12th century.
In 26-29 March 2018 a complete study of the body, including macroscopic and radiological examination (CT total body), revealed the natural mummy of a young man of about 25 years. Two traumatic lesions of the skull with long-term survival appeared: a superficial cutting wound on the left frontal bone (5 cm length, 0.5 cm wide), produced by a toothed blade, and an elliptical (2 x 1 cm) wound with depressed fracture, produced by a blunt weapon on the right coronal suture. Around the elliptical lesion, we noted a wider scar with thin margin (0.2 mm) describing a pentagonal shape, evidently caused by the application of a red-hot iron, a cautery with a pentagonal head.
The cauteries had very variable shape, round, squared or polygonal (as in the present case), depending on their primary aim, as is documented the surgical treaty (al-Taṣrīf ) of Albucasis, the great Muslim surgeon of 10th-11th century, master and unyielding advocate of the cautery practise.
It is the first time that the use of Medieval cautery linked with a surgical care of a cranial blunt trauma wound is documented in Paleopathology and this case represents also one of those very rare instances in which direct evidence of ancient surgery can be gained from the skeleton examination
Light postcranial skeleton vs heavy skull: a possible deep diving adaptation in beaked whales (Cetacea: Ziphiidae)
No full textA pachyosteosclerotic rostrum is a synapomorphic feature observed in several beaked whales. Four hypotheses have been proposed in the last decades to explain the evolution of this peculiar structure: 1) for favoring deep diving (the ballast hypothesis); 2) for intraspecific fights between adult males; 3) for facilitating sound transmission; 4) for intraspecific sexual display. According to the ballast hypothesis a heavy pachyosteosclerotic rostrum, combined with a light postcranial skeleton, moves the center of mass toward the head of the whale helping to rotate body for vertical diving. To better test this hypothesis, we computed the center of mass of the skeleton of three beaked whales (Hyperoodon ampullatus, Mesoplodon bowdoini, and Ziphius cavirostris) and one dolphin (Delphinus delphis), all kept at the Museo di Storia Naturale, Università di Pisa. Moreover, analyses about the density of the vertebral column and radiodensity of the first thoracic vertebra, first lumbar vertebra, first caudal vertebra and phalanxes were performed. Radiodensity was estimated by means of Computed Tomography (CT) and Micro-CT. Our analyses confirm the significant displacement of the center of mass to the anterior part of the skeleton in beaked whales, with the most notable shift occurring in M. bowdoini, exhibiting the center of mass in correspondencee of the cervical vertebrae. The skeleton of M. bowdoini also exhibits the least dense trabecular bone tissue, both in the vertebral bodies and the phalanx. The common dolphin, on the contrary, shows the posteriormost position of the center of mass and the densest trabecular bone tissue of vertebral bodies. Although this preliminary study seemingly supports the ballast hypothesis, these results should be further strengthened by increasing the number of investigated species and also by analyzing the whole bodies in order to estimate the center of mass of the entire living whales
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