Ivane Beritashvili: Founder of Physiology and Neuroscience in Georgia

This paper is dedicated to one of the outstanding scientists of the twentieth century—Ivane Beritashvili. He was a Georgian physiologist who graduated from St. Petersburg University and worked under the supervision of N. Wedensky. He founded the Department of Physiology and the Institute of Physiology at the University of Tbilisi, Georgia. Among his numerous contributions was the discovery of the rhythmical course of reciprocal inhibition in spinal reflexes, the first demonstration of the excitatory and inhibitory reactions in the brain stem neuropil. But Beritashvili's most significant contribution was the discovery of the mediation of animal psychoneural behavior by image-driven memory.     

Microscopy in Camillo Golgi's Times

The research performed by Camillo Golgi in histology and pathology dates from 1865, the year in which he obtained his MD degree, to 1923, when his last scientific article was published. Beginning in the mid-1855s, microscope manufacturers in Europe started producing objectives based on the principle of immersion introduced in 1847 by Giovan Battista Amici. The immersion objectives greatly improved the resolution of microscopic observations at high magnifications. From 1860 to 1872, technological improvements in microscope optics and the practicality of their use provided a larger community of investigators effective tools needed to study the structure of the nervous system. This progress in microscopy was associated with the application of new histological techniques, mastered by the chromoargentic reaction introduced by Golgi in 1873. In 1872, further progress in microscopy stemmed from the application of notions of applied physics to the production of microscope optics. These developments in microscopy will be briefly reviewed here.     

A case study of possible differential diagnoses of a medieval skeleton from Denmark: leprosy,ergotism, treponematosis,sarcoidosis or smallpox?

This paper uses macroscopic and radiological examinations to provide differential diagnoses of pathological lesions in the skeleton of a young woman, 20–25 years of age, which triggered the Danish palaeopathologist Vilhelm Møller‐Christensen's interest in leprosy. The skeleton was incomplete, but the majority of bones of the upper body, as well as the skull, were present. The pathological changes consisted of medullary and cortical lytic foci, periosteal reaction and enhanced cortical density. The lesions were most extensive on the left side, especially around the elbow, wrist and scapula. Treponematosis, leprosy, smallpox, ergotism, rheumatoid arthritis, tuberculosis and sarcoidosis are all reviewed with regard to bone and joint pathology and their likelihood of being the correct diagnosis. We concluded that the most plausible diagnosis is treponematosis, but neither sarcoidosis nor smallpox can be completely excluded. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Approaches to violent death: a case study from early medieval Cambridge

This paper examines one of a number of weapon‐injury victims from the cemetery at Church End in Cherry Hinton, Cambridge (Hertfordshire Archaeological Trust/Archaeological Solutions site HAT358), which was in use from the late Anglo‐Saxon period until after the Norman Conquest. Drawing on precedents set by forensic studies, palaeopathology and more traditional spatial cemetery analysis, assertions are made about the nature of the attack and its context. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Possible rheumatoid arthritis found in the human skeleton collected from the tomb of Joseon Dynasty,Korea, dating back to the 1700s AD

We report a possible rheumatoid arthritis (RA) case found in a Korean Joseon Dynasty (1392–1910) tomb encapsulated by a lime‐soil mixture barrier (LSMB). The tomb is thought to have been constructed during the 1700s AD (1760 AD by carbon dating). In our anthropological examination, joint destruction, erosion or fusion (signs of polyarthritis) were identified mainly in the peripheral skeleton. Especially in both sides of the wrist bones, severe destruction/joint fusion possibly caused by polyarthritis was observed. A similar polyarthritis pattern also was seen in the right foot bones, even though we failed to confirm this symmetry due to the missing left foot bones. Despite these findings, signs suggestive of polyarthritis are very rarely seen in axial bones, even though bony fusions are found in the atlanto‐occipital joint or thoracic vertebrae (TV) 9–10. By the osteological signs observed in this case, the individual, a female, might have been suffering from a very late stage of RA and died in her 40s, even though other forms of chronic arthritis could not be ruled out completely. Though the current case could not provide evidence to decisively settle the debates on the antiquity of RA, our report could be a stepping stone for forthcoming studies on RA cases found in East Asian countries. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Thomas Graham Brown (1882–1965): Behind the Scenes at the Cardiff Institute of Physiology

Thomas Graham Brown undertook seminal experiments on the neural control of locomotion between 1910 and 1915. Although elected to the Royal Society in 1927, his locomotion research was largely ignored until the 1960s when it was championed and extended by the distinguished neuroscientist, Anders Lundberg. Puzzlingly, Graham Brown's published research stopped in the 1920s and he became renowned as a mountaineer. In this article, we review his life and multifaceted career, including his active neurological service in WWI. We outline events behind the scenes during his tenure at Cardiff's Institute of Physiology in Wales, UK, including an interview with his technician, Terrence J. Surman, who worked in this institute for over half a century.     

Life on horseback: palaeopathology of two Scythian skeletons from Alexandropol,Ukraine

In 2006, two skeletons were analysed that were previously excavated from the periphery of a Scythian burial mound, near the village of Alexandropol in southern Ukraine. Dated to ca. 325 BC, both remains are male. The first is that of a youth in his late teens who exhibits indications of biological stress and degenerative changes to the spine in the form of a Schmorl's node. The second is a middle‐aged individual with extensive healed lesions due to trauma to the right humerus and clavicle with associated bony changes of the elbow and spine. Stable isotope analyses indicate a diet based on C3 plants. Their skeletons suggest a rigorous life on horseback. Both may have served as sacrificial victims. Historical records document the strangulation of attendants and their placement around the periphery of royal burial mounds. Grave goods suggest that both were warriors, although the youth lacks the traumatic injuries exhibited by the older male. The individuals from Alexandropol may have served a Scythian king in life and in death. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

An Unusual Erosive Arthropathy from Medieval England

In palaeopathology, diagnosis of skeletal disease is classically made with reference to changes wrought by known diseases in modern or recent cases. This report presents a skeleton from medieval England which shows a form of erosive arthropathy. A more precise diagnosis is problematic because the alterations appear inconsistent with any of the principle forms of erosive arthropathy in current clinical classification. The distribution of lesions in the axial and appendicular skeleton resembles that in seronegative spondyloarthropathies. The nature of the lesions however, which are almost entirely lytic and concentrated principally at synovial articulations rather than entheses, is inconsistent with seronegative spondyloarthropathies and is more consistent with pathophysiology of rheumatoid arthritis. These observations raise the possibility that the manifestations of erosive arthropathies may have altered over time and/or that our clinical understanding of the skeletal distribution of lesions in these diseases may be incomplete. These scenarios would have profound implications for our ability to identify the various forms of erosive arthritis in archaeological populations, but further work investigating erosive arthritis in patients, together with systematic studies of skeletal cases, would be required before firm conclusions can be made. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Two Roman and medieval cases of symmetrical erosive polyarthropathy from Normandy: anatomico-pathological and radiological evidence for rheumatoid arthritis

With continued archaeological discoveries of skeletal remains in the USA and Europe, discussion of the possible aetiology for recognized cases of symmetrical erosive polyarthropathy include the spondylarthropathies and rheumatoid arthritis. One skeleton from the fourth century site of Lisieux and a second from the eleventh century site of Rouen are characterized by numerous symmetrical marginal erosions, primarily involving the metacarpophalangeal and proximal interphalangeal joints. Results of maroscopic, microscopic and radiological examination are highly suggestive of a modern-day diagnosis of rheumatoid arthritis. These data are consistent with the presence of rheumatoid arthritis before the onset of the fourteenth century. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.