Skeletal evidence for hyperparathyroidism in a 19th century child with rickets

The skeletal remains of a child aged 2.5–3.5 years, recovered during archaeological excavations at the churchyard of St Martin's Church, Birmingham, UK, were examined using gross observation, radiography and scanning electron microscopy. Lesions suggestive of the presence of rickets and of secondary hyperparathyroidism were found. This appears to be a first report of secondary hyperparathyroidism in response to rickets in a palaeopathological specimen. The potential of microscopic examination of bone for interpreting disease processes is emphasised. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Dental calculus and other dental disease in a human skeleton of the Okhotsk Culture unearthed at Hamanaka-2 site,Rebun-Island,Hokkaido, Japan

A human skeleton of the Okhotsk Culture from the Hamanaka-2 site of Rebun Island, northern part of Hokkaido, was found with abnormally large deposits of dental calculus, especially on the right upper 2nd and 3rd molars. This may relate to the early loss of the corresponding right lower molars. Root apex cementum hyperplasia and resorption of alveolar bone due to periodontal disease were also observed; these may have been associated with the calculus. The severe dental calculus and other diseases observed appear to have nothing to do with the subsistence pattern and ethnological background of the Okhotsk Culture, but rather with the individual's poor oral hygiene and digestive dysfunction.     

Trace elements in palaeopathology: Quantitative analysis of a case of hypertrophic osteoarthropathy by instrumental neutron activation analysis

Instrumental neutron activation analysis (INAA) of the bones of a 6th century case (AD ) of hypertrophic osteoarthropathy (HOA) showed high levels of Zn, Mn and K in the periosteal new bone. The concentration of Zn in the periosteal new bone appeared to be biogenetic in origin and connected with active mineralization processes in the abnormal bone tissue. Manganese and potassium concentrations were, at least partly, related to diagenetic processes.     

Palaeopathology at the Khan-el-Ahmar site: Health and disease in a Byzantine monastery in the Judean Desert,Israel

The present study describes the skeletal material that was uncovered at the crypt of the monastery of St Euthymius at Khan-el-Ahmar, in the Judean Desert, near Jerusalem. Comparative morphometric analysis with contemporaneous populations and the palaeodemographic and palaeopathological data disprove many historians' well accepted notions regarding early Christians in the Judean Desert. In the present paper we suggest that the majority of people who were buried at the Khan-el-Ahmar monastery derived mainly from the autochthonous population of the region and were not migrants or fugitives from surrounding countries. It appears that this community of monks lived in a rather protected environment despite their desert surroundings. In the monastery, they maintained a high level of personal hygiene, had adequate food supplies and were not subjected to repeated acts of violence from their neighbours.     

A benign bone-forming tumour (osteoma) on the skull of a fossil balaenopterid whale from the Pliocene of Chile

Hampe, O., Witzmann, F. & Asbach, P., 2014. A benign bone-forming tumour (osteoma) on the skull of a fossil balaenopterid whale from the Pliocene of Chile. Alcheringa 38, xxx–xxx. ISSN 0311–5518.

A pathology of the fossil baleen whale ‘Megaptera’ hubachi from the early Pliocene of Chile is described. It is a bony outgrowth on the left side of the supraoccipital, which is interpreted as a benign bone-forming tumour (osteoma). This diagnosis is based on X-ray imaging and CT scans of the abnormal bone, revealing a homogeneously dense internal structure with no evidence for lytic areas. The osteoma described here in ‘Megaptera’ hubachi is the first unequivocal evidence of a bone tumour in a cetacean, fossil or extant.

Oliver Hampe [oliver.hampe@mfn-berlin.de] and Florian Witzmann [florian.witzmann@mfn-berlin.de], Museum für Naturkunde, Leibniz-Institut für Evolutions- und Biodiversitätsforschung, Invalidenstraße 43, D-10115 Berlin, Germany; Patrick Asbach [patrick.asbach@charite.de], Institut für Radiologie, Charité—Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Charitéplatz 1, D-10117 Berlin, Germany. Received 28.8.2013, revised 7.11.2013, accepted 12.11.2013.     

The distribution of osteoarthritis of the hands in a skeletal population

The distribution of osteoarthritis of the hands was studied in 101 skeletons from archaeological sites in England. The results are similar to those found in epidemiological studies of modern populations. Osteoarthritis of the hands was more common in females than in males, and in females tended to involve a greater number of joints. The distal and proximal interphalangeal joints were commonly affected, the former more frequently than the latter, but otherwise the disease was largely confined to the first ray of the hand, centred on the trapezium. It is concluded that the pattern of osteoarthritis in the hand has probably not changed greatly over several hundred years.     

The rhinomaxillary syndrome in leprosy: A clinical,radiological and palaeopathological study

The rhinomaxillary syndrome consists of a group of maxillary bone changes, which may be present in part or in total, in lepromatous and near-lepromatous leprosy. The changes are a composite mixture of erosive, absorptive and proliferative bone reactions. The anatomical zones involved are the alveolar process of the maxilla, the anterior nasal spine, the palatine process of the maxilla, intranasal osseous structures, and the margins of the nasal aperture.     

Human osteoarchaeology in the UK 2001–2007: a bibliometric perspective

Bibliometric analysis of osteoarchaeology publications covering the period 2001–2007 in leading journals was carried out. The aims were two‐fold: firstly, to characterise research in this field in the UK and make comparisons with selected other countries, and secondly, to shed light on the use of skeletal collections. It was found that, since a previous survey of this type,covering the period 1991–1995, isotopic and DNA studies have increased. In the UK, work on biodistance studies is minor compared with other countries, and the proportion of palaeopathology work is high. In palaeopathology, substantial effort continues to be devoted to case studies, particularly in the UK where the frequency of problem‐orientated work directed at understanding earlier populations has not increased since the early 1990s. Although it is argued that the case study still has a place in osteoarchaeology, the balance of work needs to shift further in favour of population studies, particularly in the UK. Skeletal collections are vital for primary osteoarchaeological work, and there was little evidence for any great use of skeletal databases such as the Standard Osteological Database. Skeletal collections from the UK were the most used for the research papers analysed, demonstrating the importance of UK‐held collections for research that leads to high profile publication in the international scientific literature. These observations are pertinent since legal, ethical and practical issues in the treatment of human remains, particularly those connected with retention of skeletal collections, are now coming under closer scrutiny in the UK. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A possible case of hyperparathyroidism in a burial of 15–17th century AD date from Wharram Percy,England

The subject of this paper is the partial skeleton of an adult female, dating to ad 1420–1640, excavated from the church at the deserted village of Wharram Percy, North Yorkshire, UK. Lesions are described which are probably indicative of hyperparathyroidism. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A pituitary tumour in a medieval skull

Evidence of pituitary tumours in osteoarchaeological material is rare. In the present case, an enlarged pituitary fossa in the sphenoid bone indicated an expanding lesion. There was no evidence of hormonal abnormality, and a non-secreting adenoma or, less likely, a craniopharyngioma are suggested as probable diagnoses.     

Supra‐acetabular cysts in a medieval skeletal population

This study is an investigation of supra‐acetabular cysts in non‐arthrotic hips in a large Medieval British skeletal series. Lesions were found to occur in 10% of adult innominates, and were more common in males. Evidence is presented for an aetiology of trauma. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A nineteenth-century case of carcinoma of the prostate,with a note on the early history of the disease

A case of prostatic carcinoma is described in the skeleton of a named individual who died in 1834. The tumour was recognized from widespread periosteal new bone throughout the skeleton and by the presence of sclerosing metastases in many bones, including the pelvis and all the vertebrae. A number of features of the disease present here are said to be uncommon in modern patients, including spiculated periosteal new bone and some degree of spinal stenosis. In two previous cases of prostatic carcinoma described in the literature, periosteal new bone was a prominent feature and was probably responsible for the disease being recognized. It is likely that if skeletons from mature males were routinely X-rayed, considerably more cases would be noted and a more accurate estimate of the prevalence of this disease in the past would thus be ascertained. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Turner Teeth and childhood caries in a protohistoric California Indian population

Three instances of unusual enamel defects are reported from a late prehistoric and protohistoric non-agricultural California Indian population. The defects, consisting of irregular absence of enamel over much of the crown of single premolars, with no corresponding hypoplastic defects in the remainder of the dentition, are typical of Turner teeth. Such defects are a consequence of pulp exposure from severe caries infections in the primary dentition. Their presence is suggestive of unusually high levels of childhood caries experience for a non-agricultural population, a suggestion borne out by examination of the deciduous dentitions.     

Fatal wounds in a Late Neolithic double inhumation—A probable case of meningitis following trauma

Among a group of seven skeletons from the southern part of Lower Saxony, dating to the Single Grave Culture (ca. 2500BC ), was a double inhumation, which showed an unusual burial position for one of the individuals interred. Deviating from the typical squatted position, this male was supine. Having been badly injured by an arrow shot into the back, he suffered from post-traumatic paraplegia and, most probably died from bacterial meningitis caused by the flint tip that penetrated the spinal cord. This infection was also responsible for the burial position, clearly pointing to an opisthotonus, which is indicative of the final stage of bacterial meningitis. The other individual, also male, had an arrow wound and died from the complications of a severe wound to the intestines.     

Stapedial footplate fixation in a 4000-year-old temporal bone from Franzhausen II,Austria

In one of 185 temporal bones from 100 individuals excavated from the Bronze Age cemetery Franzhausen II in Lower Austria, stapedial footplate fixation was detected, in a 16–20-year-old male. Examination by surgical microscope, flexible endoscope and computed tomography revealed that the stapes footplate is almost completely fixed into the oval window, with abnormal bone formation in its anterior end. As shown by computed tomographic imaging there were no radiolucent zones around the cochlea, which can sometimes be seen in modern patients with cochlear otosclerosis. Most findings lead to the conclusion that this case of a stapes ankylosis nearly 4000 years ago is probably due to otosclerosis.     

Diaphyseal remodelling in leprosy: A radiological and palaeopathological study

Diaphyseal remodelling is a pathological process of the proximal phalanges, metatarsals and metacarpals in all established types of clinical leprosy. It is suggested that the changes are the result of sympathetic neuropathy and alteration of peripheral vascular bed dynamics selectively stimulating extracortical osteoclastic and endosteal osteoblastic activity. There is an overall loss of diaphyseal cortical diameter, either in concentric or knife-edge pattern. There is extracortical absorption of bone and coincident endosteal bone deposition. Ultimately, there is diaphyseal pathological fracture, and subsequent resorption of the distal and proximal remnants due to combined continued diaphyseal remodelling and achroosteolysis.