Frequency of pathology in a large natural sample from Natural Trap Cave with special remarks on erosive disease in the Pleistocene.

Frequency of pathology in a large natural sample from Natural Trap Cave with special remarks on erosive disease in the Pleistocene.

Rothschild B M; Martin L D

Reumatismo

2003

1905-06

Population data are presented for erosive arthritis, osteoarthritis, diffuse idiopathic skeletal hyperostosis (DISH), joint eburnation and dental injury in a fauna from Natural Trap Cave, Wyoming, represented by over thirty thousand bones from twenty-four different species. Erosive arthritis is limited to the bovids, Bison, Ovis and Bootherium. Erosive arthritis is also present in bison from the late Pleistocene Twelve Mile Creek site in Kansas and from an early Holocene site in Wisconsin. The restriction of the known Pleistocene occurrences to bovids indicate the presence of a pathogen that predisposes bovids to erosive arthritis. The pathogen was identified as Mvcobacterium tuberculosis. Osteoarthritis and DISH are rare in the Natural Trap Cave, although Bison shows a relatively high occurrence of the former. Tooth breakage due to errors in bone manipulation was a problem for carnivores and one lion, Pantera atrox, was apparently reduced by joint disease to a scavenging lifestyle.

Animals; *Fossils; Bone and Bones/*pathology; Paleopathology; Paleodontology; *Mammals; *Rheumatic Diseases/pathology/veterinary; Osteoarthritis/history/pathology/veterinary; History; Ancient

Article information provided for research and reference use only. All rights are retained by the journal listed under publisher and/or the creator(s).

58–65

1

55