Septic bone changes in leprosy: A clinical,radiological and palaeopathological review

Infective lesions of bone in leprosy are of two types. In the rhinomaxillary syndrome, superficial infective changes in the bones of the maxilla are due to the presence of Mycobacterium leprae. Lytic foci in the medulla or the outer cortical surface may be due to Mycobacterium leprae at the site as granulomatous lesions. The most frequent infective bone changes in leprosy are, however, sequelae of regional anaesthesia and soft tissue ulceration. The bone lesions are due to pyogenic bacteria and the nature of these infective lesions is similar to that in non-leprous conditions. The pyogenic lesions in leprosy are restricted to the bones of the hands, feet and lower legs.     

Tropical Ulcer on a Human Tibia from 5000 Years Ago in Northern Italy

The term tropical ulcer, as applied to bone pathology, describes the specific pathologic phenomenon of the presence of a well‐defined osteomatous shelf formation on the anteromedial aspect of the tibia. Despite the appellation ‘tropical,’ this pathology is not geographically limited to tropical regions, although it has not previously been reported from continental Europe. Observations of a 4583 BP burial from the Tanaro River area of Northern Italy represent the first such case. Dating of the site to the time of climate change at the end of the first Glacial suggests that hot–warm, humid conditions may have allowed the occurrence of this bone pathology, the first observed in continental Europe. A second explanation is the possible migration of an individual to Italy from an area that is more conventionally considered tropical. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Health status of the Venda,a post‐antibiotic community in rural South Africa

This paper examines the health status of a rural African community during the emergence of Westernisation. A total of 157 skeletons, which included 120 adults (55 males and 51 females), 37 juveniles, and 14 individuals of unknown age, were analysed. Date of death ranged from 1910 to 1999, with the majority of individuals (52%) being buried after 1960. The bones were examined for infectious diseases, trauma and degenerative changes. More than half of the individuals in the sample had no pathological lesions on their skeletal remains. No cribra orbitalia was present. One case of leprosy and three cases of osteomyelitis were recorded. The most common findings were osteophytes on the vertebral bodies (syndesmophytes) (17%) and osteoarthritis (7%). The low occurrence of chronic disease is unexpected given that malaria was endemic and intestinal worms were common. Explanations for these results include adequate intake of iron from dietary sources, death from acute infectious diseases, administration of antibiotics, and poor preservation of adult skeletal remains. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Adding insult to injury: opportunistic treponemal disease in a scalping survivor

Although the taking of scalps is arguably a perimortem trophy‐taking behaviour, cases of scalping survival are occasionally reported in the historical documents of the American Colonial Period and the 19^th century westward expansion. Survival cases are also detected in pre‐Columbian bioarchaeological contexts. Although scalp avulsion injuries can heal without complication, often the process is compromised by secondary osteomyelitis, usually attributable to environmentally ever‐present Staphylococcal or Streptococcal bacteria. A scalping survivor case from the late prehistoric (AD 1200–1600) Hampton site (40RH41) of East Tennessee unusually displays infectious sequelae in the area denuded by scalp avulsion which are pathognomonic for treponemal disease (caries sicca, stellate scarring). This infection is probably a reflection of the easy opportunity afforded by the large size of the wound bed, poor post‐trauma hygiene, and direct inoculation of the diploë by a ubiquitous Treponema. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A case of healing spinal infection from classical Rome

This paper describes a spinal infection in an adult male skeleton from Ist century AD necropolis in Rome. Pathological alterations of the lower thoracic vertebrae, including bone destruction and fusion, suggest tuberculous spondylitis as the most probable diagnosis. The rarity of healing infections, as well as the non‐diagnostic appearance of the lesions, have prompted this note. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Pathological Evidence in Newborn Children from the Sixteenth Century in Huelva (Spain)

Archaeological infant remains rarely appear in the palaeopathological literature; above all there are few references to neonatal individuals. This work presents four infant pathological specimens from the crypt of the Ermita de la Soledad (sixteenth to nineteenth century, Huelva, Spain). The bones analysed—one right hemifrontal, two humeri and a femur—belong to at least two individuals of between 0 and 6 months of age. The differential diagnosis of the lesions—mainly detachments of the outer layer of cortical bone, areas of juxtametaphysial osteolysis and epiphysial destructuralization—supports the hypothesis of an infectious aetiology, such as congenital treponematosis and haematogenous osteomyelitis, although illness caused by a deficiency, such as scurvy or rickets, cannot be ruled out.     

House-Yard Burials of Enslaved Laborers in Eighteenth-Century Jamaica

Four burials were excavated from discrete house-yard compounds in an eighteenth century African Jamaican slave settlement at Seville plantation. Though only four in number, these individuals provide significant information on burial practices and physical conditions within a clearly defined African Jamaican community. The analysis of material remains illuminate living conditions and social relations within the African Jamaican community. Each individual was interred within a separate house-yard and with a unique set of artifacts that yield information about their unique identities and positions within the Seville community. Bioarchaeological assessments describe the osteological remains and detail findings concerning pathologies. To date, they are the only excavated individuals who represent the African Caribbean practice of house-yard burial.