A Bronze Age mandibular anomaly from Gansu, China

Bibliographic Data

ID12371745
AuthorsShiyu Yang (0000-0002-6222-0389, School of Archaeology Jilin University Changchun 130012 China), Ruilin Mao (0000-0002-0840-3328, Gansu Provincial Archaeology and Culture Relics Institute Lanzhou 730000 China), Quanchao Zhang (0000-0002-0863-5751, School of Archaeology Jilin University Changchun 130012 China, corresponding author), Q Wang (0000-0002-3303-1183, Department of Biomedical Sciences Texas A&M University College of Dentistry Dallas Texas 75246 USA, corresponding author)
Year2021
Volume31
Issue3
Pages475-484
Publication date2021-01-16
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueInternational Journal of Osteoarchaeology (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1047-482X • E-ISSN: 1099-1212
PublisherWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1002/oa.2965
OpenAlexW3121535650
LanguageEN
References cited25

Bone defect in the mandible due to developmental defects, trauma, or diseases is common. However, large scale of mandibular bone atrophy induced by long‐term pressure is rare. This study reported a mandibular anomaly, possibly a secondary lesion, from a Bronze Age adult male excavated from the Dunping cemetery during the Eastern Zhou Dynasty (770–256 BCE), Zhang County, Gansu Province, China. The defect presents as an absence of bone mass at the angle of inferior lingual aspect of the mandibular corpus, incorporating the gonial angle of the mandible on the left side. Overall profile of the defect was assessed using morphological observations of the mandible, accompanied by computed tomography (CT) imaging and panoramic dental X‐ray images of the jaws used to assist with the diagnosis. There were no signs of trauma, osteogenic neoplasms, or osteolytic lesions. Pressure resorption, a Stafne defect, was postulated as the primary cause of bone atrophy due to a long‐term lesion of the neighboring submandibular gland, namely, chronic sialadenitis or a benign neoplasm pleomorphic adenoma. This is for the first reported case of a mandible anomaly as such identified from ancient China. This reporting enriches the knowledge of long‐term effects of pressure resorption in the human mandible

Atrophy · Biology · Lesion · Mandible (arthropod mouthpart · Pathology · dental development and anomalies · Dental Radiography and Imaging · Medicine · Oral and Maxillofacial Pathology · Anatomy