Paleopathologic diagnosis based on experimental mummification
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 8317252 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Michael R Zimmerman (University of Michigan, corresponding author) |
| Year | 1979 |
| Volume | 51 |
| Issue | 2 |
| Pages | 235-253 |
| Publication date | 1979-08-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | American Journal of Physical Anthropology (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0002-9483 • E-ISSN: 1096-8644 |
| Publisher | Wiley (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1002/ajpa.1330510211 |
| OpenAlex | W2062158495 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 3 |
| References cited | 25 |
The difficulties of diagnosis of pathologic conditions are immensely magnified when the subject of a postmortem examination has been postmortem for several hundreds to thousands of years. Artefacts of decomposition and bacterial and fungal invasion are compounded upon those of rehydration when mummified tissue is examined. As an approach to these problems, a study of the changes seen in experimentally mummified and rehydrated tissues was undertaken. Normal and pathologic tissues were studied in comparison to sections prepared from the fresh tissue. The experimentally mummified tissues were generally similar to, but somewhat better preserved than, actual human mummies. There was organ and tissue specific variability in preservation, and different classes of pathology likewise showed differential preservation. Inflammatory reactions were not very well‐preserved although infecting microorganisms were easily identified. Degenerative processes such as atherosclerosis and others characterized by the accumulation of abnormal products, were well preserved, while necrosis, as in acute myocardial infarction, was not. Malignancies were particularly well preserved. The implications of these findings for previous and future mummy studies is discussed in terms of our understanding of the evolution of disease processes
Autopsy · Biology · Differential diagnosis · Disease · Necrotic tissue · Pathology · Forensic Entomology and Diptera Studies · Medicine · Paleopathology and ancient diseases · Surgery
Disease in Ancient Nubia
Porotic Hyperostosis, Anemias, Malarias, and Marshes in the Prehistoric Eastern Mediterranean
The Mummies of the Tomb of Nebwenenef
On the origins of new world paleopathology
Human biological observations on a Guanche mummy with anthracosis
Histological examination of experimentally mummified tissues
The Effect of Smallpox on the Destiny of the Amerindian
Palaeopathology
Diseases in Antiquity
The Skeletal Biology of Earlier Human Populations
Infectious Diseases in Ancient Populations
| Unique citing works | 3 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 0,08 |
| Citation span | 1988 - 2016 (29) |
| Citation velocity | historical |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 3 |