1,721,102 research outputs found
Necropsy reports and anatomo-pathological observations from the archives of the Grand Ducal Medici family of Florence. Part I - The 16th century
Full text linkDuring the Renaissance and Early Modern Age dissection began to be practiced for medico-legal
purposes, in order to investigate the causes of death. In particular, during the 15th century evidences of autopsies
performed by doctors on their private patients emerge. These dissections were requested by those families
who can afford the expenses, in order to search the possible presence of hereditary diseases and to predispose
a prevention and cure. The diffusion of this practice is attested also by the work of Antonio Benivieni (1443-
1502), who is considered a pioneer of the pathological anatomy. The extremely rich documentary archives
of the Medici family, one of the most important family of the Italian Renaissance, report several description
of necropsies carried out on the bodies of the members of the family. The analysis of these reports offers
important direct information on the autopsy practices performed by court surgeons of the members of an
aristocratic class in a period comprised between the 16th and the first half of the 18th century, and allows in
some cases also to propose a retrospective diagnosis on the diseases that afflicted the Medici. In this paper
the analysis will be focused on the evidences about autopsies carried out during the 16th century. An evolution
through time can be observed, as from the first very brief notes at the beginning of the period the reports
become more detailed and accurate at the end of the century
Pancio of Controne (1275 ca.-1340), a Tuscan physician at the courts of Edward II and Edward III of England
Full text linkThis article focuses on the figure of Pancio of Controne, a 14th-century Tuscan physician who played a major role as archiater at the courts of the king Edward II (1307-1327) and Edward III (1327- 1377). Through documents preserved in the English and Italian archives, it is possible to trace the biography of this illustrious physician and to reconstruct his social ascent and his economic activities. What emerges is a multi-faceted figure who devotes himself as much to medicine as to political and above all economic affairs, a range of activities that can be understood if they are read in the light of late medieval society and the Italian commercial expansion of the 13th-14th centuries
Disseminated cystic echinococcosis of Ferdinando II de’ Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany (1610-1670)
No full textThe article examine the necroscopic report of Ferdinando II de' Medici performed in 1670, from which a diagnosis of disseminated cystic echinococcosis can be formulated
Necropsy reports and anatomo-pathological observations from the archives of the Grand Ducal Medici family of Florence. Part II – The 17th and first half of the 18th century
Full text linkDuring the Modern Age, dissection began to be practiced for medico-legal purposes, in order to investigate the causes of death. In particular, starting from the 15th century evidences of autopsies performed by doctors on their private patients emerge. These dissections were requested by those families who can afford the expenses, in order to search the possible presence of hereditary diseases and to predispose a prevention and cure. The extremely rich documentary archives of the Medici family, one of the most important family of the Italian Renaissance, report several description of necropsies carried out on the bodies of the members of the family. The analysis of these reports offers important direct information on the autopsy practices performed by court surgeons of the members of an aristocratic class in a period comprised between the 16th and the first half of the 18th century, and allows in some cases also to propose a retrospective diagnosis on the diseases that afflicted the Medici. Following a previous work that discussed the evidences dated back to the 16th century, this paper will be focused on the reports about autopsies carried out during the 17th and the first half of the 18th century. During this period, the reports became more accurate and detailed, reaching at the end of the period the characteristic of modern scientific autopsy notes. Therefore, in the majority of cases the lesions referred by the court physician provide sufficient element to propose a retrospective diagnosis based on the symptoms referred by the historical sources during the life of the patients and on the cadaveric examination
Analisi demografica del cimitero della peste di Alghero (1582-1583)
No full textIn 2008, archaeological excavations carried out in the inner courtyard of the former Jesuit College of Alghero brought to light the San Michele cemetery. Characteristic of the site are some burial trenches, narrow and long pits containing the remains of 10 to 30 individuals, and some multiple tombs, which can be related to the plague epidemic that ravaged the city in 1582-83. The present study is focused on the demographic analysis of the 16 trenches containing 185 individuals and of one multiple tomb (T.141) with 14 individuals. In the case of the trenches it was possible to determine the sex of 178 individuals: 37 are males (20.7%), 53 females (29.8%) and 88 of undetermined sex (49.5%). As for the first two groups, 35.6% of individuals has an age comprised between 20 and 29 years; the two age ranges 30-39 and 40-49 years present the same percentage (25.6%), 8.9% are aged between 17 and 19, and finally 4.4% are over the age of 50. The undetermined sex category is represented by 81 subadults and 7 adults. As for the subadults, the most representative age group is that between 7 and 12 years old with 39.8%, followed by the 23.9% between 13 and 19 years, 18.2% between 2 and 6 years, and finally, 10.2% between 0 and 1 years. The multiple tomb 141 include an adult individual (20-29 years) of undetermined sex, a woman of about 17 years and with a 35-week fetus in her womb, and finally 12 subadults included in an age range between 0-1 years (21.4%), 2-6 years (7.1%) and 7-12 years (50.0%). The cemetery of San Michele presents some similarities with the French cemetery of Martigues struck by the plague in 1720. Also in this cemetery the type of trench burials was found, 5 in this case, with 199 individuals. The comparison between the paleodemographic curves for both cemeteries evidences a similarity of the mortality trend. The difference between normal and catastrophic cemeteries, related to a severe epidemic event, consists in the fact that while in the former there is a greater presence of infants and elderly, in the latter there is a certain homogeneity of mortality, proof of the fact that the plague kills in a random way and therefore all individuals present the same risk of death
Environment, Occupation, and Chronic Maxillary Sinusitis in Pre-Roman Italy
No full textObjective: To assess the frequency of chronic maxillary sinusitis (CMS) in a pre-Roman archeological skeletal assemblage from Italy and to evaluate the occurrence of CMS in combination with its environmental and sociocultural context. Materials and methods: A total of 131 adult individuals from the pre-Roman site of Pontecagnano (eighth to third centuries bce) in southern Italy with intact maxillary sinuses of ≥ 50% preservation were macroscopically and microscopically observed for the presence of osseous changes per published diagnostic criteria of CMS. Results: CMS was present in 57.2% of individuals. The prevalence of CMS was higher in females than in males, and this difference was statistically significant (p = 0.043). The frequency of CMS increased with age-at-death. Bilateral CMS occurred more frequently than unilateral CMS. The differences in the prevalence of CMS in the Etruscan (700-450 bce), Samnite (450-375 bce), and final pre-Roman (375-200 bce) phases of occupation were not statistically significant. Discussion: In combination with viral and bacterial infections, occupational activities (metallurgy, ceramic and textile production, and agriculture) and environmental factors (volcanic ash, marshy environments, and sub-Saharan dust plumes) likely stimulated respiratory disease and resultant CMS in the inhabitants of Pontecagnano. This study provides a framework for future research on CMS and respiratory diseases in the Mediterranean region, in relation to environmental, climatic, and anthropogenic influences. The limited number of individuals per period prevented a proper diachronic analysis. Osteoarcheological assemblages from the Mediterranean region should be systematically analyzed for CMS to increase understanding of how climate, environment, industrialization, and urbanicity affected human health through time
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
Modern double burial in Central Italy: funerary chamber of the Buondelmonti family in the Basilica of Santa Maria dell'Impruneta (Florence)
No full textThis work aims to analyze the particular burial of the Buondelmonti, one of the most important aristocratic Florentine families of the late Middles Ages and Modern Age, who had great power not only in the city, but also in the Florentine countryside. Their history has always been linked to the parish church of Santa Maria dell'Impruneta, not far from Florence, where the family built their own burial chamber. Both written and material sources state that the aristocratic Buondelmonti family was buried in this hypogeum, according to the standard double burial rite, with the corpse initially positioned on seats with a central hole and successively placed in an ossuary. This practice, which consisted in using an architectural structure, called sitting colatoio, was adopted to favour the skeletonization of the bodies. This structure was used by members of lay brotherhoods and convents especially in southern Italy, with sporadic cases in other areas of the country. The Buondelmonti tomb appears to be the first example of this kind of burial in Tuscany and, more importantly, the oldest discovered to date in Italy (1591). In light of the data that have emerged from this study, the authors will try to establish the reasons why the members of the family decided to be buried in this anomalous way, and above all how this Florentine family came into contact with this practice around the end of the 1500s
Breast cancer in the 17th century: the cases of the wives of Luis Guillermo de Moncada (1614-1672)
Full text linkThe human remains of nobles housed in the Neapolitan Basilica of Saint Domenico Maggiore
(15-17th centuries) are an important series with regard to paleo-oncology, since three out of five cases of
soft tissue tumours known in paleopathology worldwide are documented in this Italian series. Among the
bodies of Saint Domenico Maggiore there are the first and the second wife of the Prince Luis Guillermo de
Moncada (1614-1672): Maria Afán de Ribera (ca1615-1639) and Catalina Moncada de Castro (1611-1659).
Both women died of breast cancer, as shown by the archival sources. The bodies of the two women are skeletonized
and the radiological analysis allowed us to identify some focal osteolytic lesions of neoplastic origin.
These cases constitute the first examples of breast cancer diagnoses in ancient human remains supported by
the integration of archival sources and paleopathological investigations. These two new cases must be added
to the three previously known malignant tumours from San Domenico Maggiore. In this Neapolitan series,
out of a total of eighteen adult individuals aged 25-71 years, five (28%) were affected by cancer. Despite the
small sample size, this prevalence is surprisingly comparable to that of the contemporary Western worl
Mieloma multiplo in paleopatologia
Full text linkLa revisione critica della letteratura paleopatologica, riguardante i casi di mieloma multiplo nelle popolazioni antiche, ha permesso di identificare con accuratezza metodologica un totale di 25 casi, provenienti da differenti aree geografiche del mondo e con cronologie che spaziano dalla preistoria all'età contemporanea. La distribuzione delle molteplici evidenze di mieloma multiplo di epoca antica dimostra che la maggior parte dei casi sono stati scoperti nel Vecchio Mondo (n=18) e risalgono al Medioevo, mentre quelli del Nuovo Mondo (n=7) sono datati al periodo pre-colombiano. Il profilo demografico suggerisce una lieve prevalenza a favore del sottocampione maschile (1,3:1) mentre il 91,7% degli individui affetti (n= 24) risulta essere di età adulta. Lo scopo principale di questa ricerca è quello di presentare un quadro quanto più esaustivo delle manifestazioni scheletriche acclarate come mieloma multiplo, evidenziando come il periodico riesame della documentazione risulti essere necessario ai fini di verificare la coerenza delle diagnosi proposte rispetto alla presentazione delle lesioni scheletriche, con il fine ultimo di migliorare l'accuratezza della diagnosi in paleopatologia. Inoltre, anche le questioni metodologiche e i criteri diagnostici, comunemente affrontati nel campo paleopatologico e, più specificatamente, nell’ambito della ricerca paleo-oncologica, figurano tra gli obiettivi di questa revisione critica
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