Epidemiologic study of tumors in dinosaurs.

Epidemiologic study of tumors in dinosaurs.

Rothschild B M; Tanke D H; Helbling M 2nd; Martin L D

Die Naturwissenschaften

2003

2003-11

Occasional reports in isolated fragments of dinosaur bones have suggested that tumors might represent a population phenomenon. Previous study of humans has demonstrated that vertebral radiology is a powerful diagnostic tool for population screening. The epidemiology of tumors in dinosaurs was here investigated by fluoroscopically screening dinosaur vertebrae for evidence of tumors. Computerized tomography (CT) and cross-sections were obtained where appropriate. Among more than 10,000 specimens x-rayed, tumors were only found in Cretaceous hadrosaurs (duck-billed dinosaurs). These included hemangiomas and metastatic cancer (previously identified in dinosaurs), desmoplastic fibroma, and osteoblastoma. The epidemiology of tumors in dinosaurs seems to reflect a familial pattern. A genetic propensity or environmental mutagens are suspected.

*Dinosaurs; Animals; Bone and Bones/diagnostic imaging; Fossils; Neoplasms/classification/diagnostic imaging/*epidemiology/*veterinary; Tomography; X-Ray Computed

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495–500

11

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