Documentation of the antiquity and tracking of the derivation of human treponemal diseases have been complicated by an inability to distinguish among these diseases biochemically, histologically, and immunologically. Skeletal impact, as a population…
Characterization of the nature and skeletal distribution of gout was accomplished in a Chamoru (Chamorros) population with predilection to the disease. Uniform excavation by the gouty diathesis produces a punched-out appearance to these predominantly…
The reliability of visual examination of defleshed bones was assessed for detection of postcranial metastatic disease in individuals known to have had cancer. This was compared with standard clinical radiologic techniques. The skeletons of 128…
The reliability of visual examination of de-fleshed bones was assessed for detection of postcranial metastatic disease in individuals known to have had cancer. This was compared with standard clinical radiological techniques. The skeletons of 128…
The paucity of convincing evidence for congenital bone lesions of syphilis in the archaeological record led to study of the human remains from the Buffalo site in West Virginia, dated at 550-650 years BP. The diagnosis of syphilis (venereal) in…
Recognition of avascular necrosis through propodial head subsidence in fossils indicates that plesiosaurs were susceptible to decompression syndrome and implies deep, prolonged or repetitive diving behavior for these animals. Contrary to the…
Odontochelys semitestacea, the oldest known turtle, from the Late Triassic of China, shows a pathology. Sharply defined, focal depressions were noted on the articular surfaces of both humeri, documenting avascular necrosis. Diving habits of Mesozoic…
Bone pathology provides a window to environment and predation, allowing confident comparison of fossils and subfossils with their modern descendents. Exclusive of modern contaminated environments, the frequency of bone disease in frogs does not seem…
Presence of spine and sacroiliac involvement and the nature and distribution of the erosive lesions allow definitive diagnosis of spondyloarthropathy. Thus, spondyloarthropathy was identified in Theropithecus, Papio, Cercopithecus, Macaca, Colobus,…
Recognition of muscle attachment sites and their modification has been an important tool in anthropologic and paleontologic research, but has been compromised by limited ability to recognise sites of tendinous attachments. We investigated bone-tendon…
The hypothesis of disease-related large mammal extinction has new support. A unique pathologic zone of resorption was first noticed in a Hiscock Mammut americanum metacarpal. The pathognomonic zone of resorption was present in fifty-nine (52%) of 113…
The opportunity to examine the defleshed skeleton of an individual diagnosed in life (Hamann-Todd collection, individual 2036) afforded a unique opportunity to demonstrate the bone damage characteristic of at least one form of juvenile rheumatoid…
Alterations of vertebral endplates have long been a subject of interest, but are of unclear clinical significance. The vertebral columns of a cohort-based sample of 850 individuals were therefore evaluated for vertebral endplate defects, noting…
Recognition of cancer in extreme antiquity has been limited to osteomas in mosasaurs and haemangiomas and growths of unclear origin in dinosaurs. We describe a metastatic cancer in a dinosaur.
Recognition of decompression syndrome-related pathology (in the form of avascular necrosis) reveals diving behaviour in mosasaurs. Macroscopic and radiologic examination was performed to identify linear bone death characteristic of avascular necrosis…
Perspectives are in the eye of the beholder and are expanded with increased scrutiny (e.g., magnification). The term porosity' for macroscopically or radiologically identifiable discontinuity in bone is so variably applied as to be incomprehensible…
Uncertainties as to the nature and implications of osteoarthritis and calcium pyrophosphate deposition disease (CPPD) in primates were subject to critical review through examination of 153 prosimians and 1,250 Old World non-prosimian primates.…
The purpose of this study was to assess birds as a potential model for osteoarthritis. Compromised by confounding factors, it has not been possible to clearly delineate causation in humans. Nonhuman mammals manifest osteoarthritis in the natural…
Paravertebral osseous masses in reptiles have been attributed to Paget's disease on the basis of histology. Histologically recognized mosaic architecture and cement lines, however, lack specificity. A Varanus dorianus with this condition was…
Diagnosis of diseases of bone, without benefit of soft tissue, in vivo observation, or blood component analysis requires the development of new criteria for diagnosis. Analyzing chimpanzee skeletal populations, applying such criteria (e.g., lesion…
Shark bite marks on mosasaur bones abound in the fossil record. Here we review examples from Kansas (USA) and the Maastrichtian type area (SE Netherlands, NE Belgium), and discuss whether they represent scavenging and/or predation. Some bite marks…
Objectives: This study was performed to complement studies on spondyloarthropathy in rhesus macaques by quantifying and characterizing another major form of arthritis and contrasting it with osteoarthritis. Methods: Skeletons of 269 macaques of known…
Examination of preserved skin from a duckbill dinosaur revealed disruption of the normal scale pattern and replacement by granulation tissue. Wrinkles radiating outward from the scar document wound contraction similar to that seen in modern injuries.…
