This paper presents a probable case of subligamentous tuberculous spondylitis (STBS), a rare form of extrapulmonary tuberculosis, diagnosed in the skeleton of a middle‐aged male discovered in the ossuary of the Franciscan crypt of the St. Anthony and St. Eusebius church, which lies in north‐western Italy. The skeleton can be dated back between the 17th and 19th centuries. This rare type of tuberculosis was identified in the thoracic and lumbar spine, with no further evidences at the level of the cranial and other postcranial bones. The concomitance of osteoclastic and osteoblastic activities, scalloping, reactive bone formation area, anterior, and lateral ligaments ossification was observed and allowed us to perform a morphological STBS diagnosis. The subject presented here contributes to the literature related to the prevalence of tuberculosis in Italy during the last centuries. Moreover, we also focus our attention on some osteopathological criteria that can prove useful for the diagnosis of extrapulmonary tuberculosis.
This study aims at presenting a case of symmetrical and bilateral thinning observed in a skull belonging to the skeleton of a mature woman from the medieval cemetery of Caravate (north Italy). Macroscopical, radiological, and histological analyses were performed to investigate the condition. The analyses allowed us to detect a progressive loss of both the outer table and the diploe, and the sparing of the inner table. As a controversial condition in the clinical and paleopathological literature, this case poses some difficulties in discussing the differential diagnosis. However, the sex determination, estimation of the age-at-death and different characteristics observed at the level of the postcranial bones, in particular the fractures recorded on different vertebral bodies, allowed us to correlate the biparietal thinning found in this subject to ageing and osteoporosis.
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