To complement a previous study relating to ear disease in temporal bones from South Dakota Indian burials, radiographs were made looking for altered mastoid development suggesting the presence of infections during the period of their growth. Infection has been implicated as a causative, accentuating, or precipitating factor in the disease otosclerosis. Theories relating to the development of the mastoids are discussed and a pertinent bibliography is presented. In total 417 temporal bones were examined. Of these 251 representing 130 individuals were from Arikara burials, and 166 representing 91 individuals, were from Middle Plains Woodland people, Sioux Historic, and other miscellaneous burials. One hundred eleven Arikara temporal bones (44%) showed evidence of altered pneumatization (diploic‐10, sclerotic‐13, mixed‐88), while 86 other culture temporal bones (51.8%) demonstrated similar changes (diploic‐4, sclerotic‐13, mixed‐69). Unilateral and bilateral variable air cell patterns were found. There was no age, sex, or ear lateralization of air cell patterns. No evidence of the effect of cholesteatoma, cancer, surgery, or other bone disease was found. These findings suggest that the people represented by these skulls must have had a significant amount of infectious middle ear disease during the period of the development of their mastoids.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
hi@scite.ai
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.