Neoplasm or not? General principles of morphologic analysis of dry bone specimens

Unlike modern diagnosticians, a paleopathologist will likely have only skeletonized human remains without medical records, radiologic studies over time, microbiologic culture results, etc. Macroscopic and radiologic analyses are usually the most accessible diagnostic methods for the study of ancient...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:International journal of paleopathology 2018-06, Vol.21, p.27-40
Main Authors: Ragsdale, Bruce D, Campbell, Roselyn A, Kirkpatrick, Casey L
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Bone and Bones - diagnostic imaging
Bone and Bones - pathology
Bone Diseases - diagnostic imaging
Bone Diseases - history
Bone Diseases - pathology
Bone Neoplasms - diagnostic imaging
Bone Neoplasms - history
Bone Neoplasms - pathology
Diagnosis, Differential
Fossils - diagnostic imaging
Fossils - history
Fossils - pathology
History, Ancient
Humans
Paleopathology - methods
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Summary:Unlike modern diagnosticians, a paleopathologist will likely have only skeletonized human remains without medical records, radiologic studies over time, microbiologic culture results, etc. Macroscopic and radiologic analyses are usually the most accessible diagnostic methods for the study of ancient skeletal remains. This paper recommends an organized approach to the study of dry bone specimens with reference to specimen radiographs. For circumscribed lesions, the distribution (solitary vs. multifocal), character of margins, details of periosteal reactions, and remnants of mineralized matrix should point to the mechanism(s) producing the bony changes. In turn, this allows selecting a likely category of disease (e.g. neoplastic) within which a differential diagnosis can be elaborated and from which a favored specific diagnosis can be chosen.
ISSN:1879-9817
1879-9825
DOI:10.1016/j.ijpp.2017.02.002