Paleopatologia

Post mortem abnormal modification of bone are known as pseudopathologies. The geochemical characteristic of the burial soil and/or the presence of biological agents may produce marked changes in bone preservation. This could be the case for a young individual, E74, from Herculaneum, which was a Roman town near Naples completely destroyed by the volcanic eruption of Mt. Vesuvius in 79 CE. E74 is an incomplete skeleton of a male individual of 7-8 years of age. Its second and third cervical vertebrae, the eighth thoracic vertebra and the first lumbar vertebra show a septum dividing the vertebral foramen. This condition could be diagnosed as diastematomyelia that consists of the splitting of the spinal cord or cauda equina. In particular Type I malformations consist of two hemicords separated into two dural tubes by a bone septum. The gross anatomy and histological aspects of the vertebrae and their septa were investigated through macroscopic, microscopic, radiographic and chemical analyses. The results demonstrate that the vertebral septum is constituted by three layers of inorganic substances deposited at different times on a thin, probably organic, substrate (original meninges?). The central layer contain framboidal pyrite, that is a sedimentary mineral rarely found in ancient human skeletons. The septum splitting the vertebral canal of individual E74 is consequent to a taphonomic event and is not due to a pathological condition. Distinguishing between ante and post mortem alterations can be a challenging exercise even for the experienced paleopathologists and, as this case indicates, paleopathological diagnoses should be supported by detailed examinations.

A Ermida do Espírito Santo, em Almada, foi provavelmente fundada durante os séculos XIV ou XV mas, após o Terramoto de 1755 — e até finais do século XVIII — serviu como sede da freguesia de Santa Maria do Castelo, período durante o qual foi amplamente utilizada como espaço sepulcral. No decurso da escavação arqueológica prévia ao início
das obras de requalificação da Ermida foram recuperados os restos esqueléticos de 88 indivíduos.
Neste trabalho apresentam-se as lesões ósseas num indivíduo adulto do sexo feminino que configuram, de forma mais provável, um diagnóstico de sífilis venérea. Desse modo, releva-se a presença de um pequeno foco de caries sicca na região direita do frontal — este tipo de lesão gomatosa é considerado patognomónico em paleopatologia. O frontal (junto à órbita direita) e os zigomáticos apresentam microporosidade e neoformação óssea. O úmero e o fémur direitos, bem como a tíbia e a clavícula esquerdas, exibem periostites e osteítes, com espessamento diafisário extenso. As lesões observadas não são bilaterais, exceto no caso dos malares. Para além da sífilis adquirida, outras opções diagnósticas são consideradas,
designadamente outras treponematoses, no contexto histórico da Ermida do Espírito Santo.

O único indivíduo ameríndio (LC1) recuperado do Sítio Arqueológico de Lagoa Cercada, Colônia do Gurguéia – Piauí, Brasil, apresenta condições de preservação excepcionais, mantendo partes do corpo em articulação graças à mumificação natural parcial que sofreu. A Geologia e Climatologia locais, mas também a deposição em gruta de difícil acesso favoreceram sua preservação. Foi possível inferir que teria sido depositado em decúbito lateral direito, envolto em uma rede e portando itens de decoração corporal – fórmula compatível com necrópoles indígenas em gruta do terceiro milênio BCE na mesma região. A osteobiografia parcial do indivíduo permite afirmar que LC1 é um adulto idoso do sexo masculino com vestígios de degeneração articular nos corpos de várias vértebras, nas articulações coxofemural e glenoumeral. Há evidências de hiperostose porótica remodelada no crânio e uma fratura remodelada na segunda costela esquerda. LC1 sofreu perda ante mortem da maior parte da dentição, com remodelação completa dos alvéolos e perda óssea significativa da estrutura mandibular e maxilar. Os dentes remanescentes exibem exposição extrema das raízes evidenciando doença periodontal avançada e erupção contínua por desgaste. Este indivíduo é extremamente importante para a compreensão dos processos patológicos e do envelhecimento entre indígenas do sertão nordestino no período Pré-contato.

Resumen:
La osteocondritis disecante (OCD) es una patología que afecta el cartílago articular y el hueso subcondral en las epífisis articulares de humanos y otros mamíferos. A pesar de que su etiología es multifactorial, la presencia de esta lesión ha sido frecuentemente atribuida a microtraumatismos reiterados por los efectos de la actividad física sobre las articulaciones afectadas. Este trabajo involucra un primer paso en el estudio de esta patología en restos humanos de Patagonia Austral, la cual no fue analizada en forma sistemática. El objetivo es analizar la variabilidad de la OCD en un conjunto de restos humanos de 26 individuos adultos pertenecientes a sociedades de cazadores-recolectores de esta región durante el Holoceno medio-tardío (ca. 5200-70 años AP) y su posible relación con la edad, el sexo, la dieta, la cronología y el geográfica de procedencia. Se discute si su expresión está vinculada con los patrones de actividad física desarrollados por los grupos, en función de las prácticas económicas llevadas a cabo. La prevalencia general observada en esta muestra (42,3%), mayor a la reportada para poblaciones actuales, sugiere que la actividad física habría desempeñado un rol importante en el desarrollo de la OCD en al menos parte de las personas afectadas.

Abstract:
Osteochondritis dissecans (OCD) is a pathology that affects the articular cartilage and the subchondral bone in the articular epiphyses of humans and other mammals. Although its etiology is multifactorial, its presence has been frequently attributed to repetitive microtrauma because of physical activity on the affected joints. This paper is a first step in the study of this pathology in human remains from Patagonia Austral, as it has not been systematically studied. The objective is to analyze the variability of the OCD in a sample of 26 hunter-gatherer adult individuals that lived in this region during the Middle-Late Holocene (ca. 5200-70 years BP) and its possible relationship with age, sex, diet, chronology and region of origin. The association between its expression and the patterns of physical activity developed in accordance with the economic practices, is discussed. The overall prevalence observed in this sample (42,3%), higher than that reported for current populations, suggests that physical activity would have played an important role in the development of OCD in at least part of the affected individuals.

RESUMEN. Se presentan nuevos datos sobre el enterramiento infantil del asentamiento argárico de Caramoro I. Los argumentos permiten reflexionar y considerar otra interpretación alternativa a la hipótesis de violencia física inicialmente propuesta. PALABRAS CLAVE. Edad del Bronce; Argar; enterramiento infantil; violencia física; paleopatología. ABSTRACT. New data on a child burial from the Argaric settlement of Caramoro I is presented. The arguments allow us to consider an alternative interpretation to the initial hypothesis of physical violence.

The Longobard necropolis of Povegliano Veronese dates from the 6 th to the 8 th centuries AD. Among the 164 tombs excavated, the skeleton of an older male shows a well-healed amputated right forearm. The orientation of the forearm fracture suggests an angled cut by a single blow. Reasons why a forearm might be amputated include combat, medical intervention, and judicial punishment. As with other amputation cases reported in literature, this one exhibits both healing and osteoblastic response. We argue that the forelimb stump morphology suggests the use of a prosthesis. Moreover, dental modification of RI 2 shows considerable wear and smoothing of the occlusal surface, which points to dental use in attaching the prosthesis to the limb. Other indications of how this individual adjusted to his amputated condition includes a slight change in the orientation of the right glenoid fossa surface, and thinning of right humeral cortical bone. This is a remarkable example in which an older male survived the loss of a forelimb in pre-antibiotic era. We link archaeological remains found in the tomb (buckle and knife) with the biological evidence to show how a combined bioarchaeological approach can provide a clearer interpretation of the life history of an individual.

Six single burials and several dislocated bones dated to the
period between the 15th and the 18th century were discovered
under the floor of the Baptistery of San Giovanni Battista
(Settimo Vittone, Turin) during an archaeological excavation
undertaken by the Soprintendenza Archeologica, Belle Arti e
Paesaggio per la Città Metropolitana di Torino in 2014. The
minimum number of individuals recovered is 81 (55 non
adults, 26 adults).
In the present study we describe and discuss 5 cases of
supracondylar process in infant and perinatal humeri. The
supracondilar processes, either prominent (5 mm long) or extremely
rudimentary (1 mm long) appear as a hook-like bony
spine of variable size that project distally from the anteromedial
surface of the humerus. The outgrowth of bone is oriented
towards the distal end above the medial epicondyle. Only in
one case the process occurs bilaterally.
In the scientific literature this lesion, also called supra-epitrochlear
process, epicondylar process, epicondylic process
or supratrochlear spur, is considered a normal anatomical
variation.
The high occurrence of the process is striking and it may suggest
a family relationship among the individuals buried.

Bull Int Assoc Paleodont. 2017;11(2):39-50. Abstract Two populations excavated in the region of Lucena (Córdoba, Spain) are presented here, in which the presence and frequency of caries has been analyzed in two samples of individuals older than 20 years: a population of Late Roman period, Cortijo Nuevo (3-4th centuries AD), with 9 individuals and 112 dental crowns analyzed; and the Late Antiquity population of Cortijo Coracho (4-8 centuries AD), with 160 individuals and 1681 dental crowns analyzed. It has been possible to determine that there is a tendency towards the appearance of the caries in the posterior teeth of the same ones, mainly in the molars. The analysis performed with the Chi square statistic, in the Cortijo Coracho sample, showed that its presence in the posterior teeth, especially in the molars, is significant. On the other hand, after analyzing various parameters (the frequency of teeth with caries and the Individuals Frequency with caries or IFC), it was possible to determine that the economy of the population of Cortijo Nuevo was based on a mixed diet with non-cariogenic products, where there were abundant non-cereal vegetables and animal proteins from hunting and/or livestock. Similarly, the population of Cortijo Coracho would present an economy based on a cariogenic diet with fermentable, non-protein products, mostly from cereals. These types of diets correspond to the type and frequency of oral lesions caused by caries observed in the samples of teeth analyzed.