Objectives: According to paleopathological records, tumors have a great antiquity. The prevalence of cancer in ancient populations might have differed from that in modern humans because of substantial differences in environmental factors, life expectancy and the availability of treatment. This study presents 3 cases of probable skeletal metastatic carcinoma from the Roman period (1st-5th century AD) in Hungary, showing the development of bone metastases of cancer without chemo- and radiotherapy. Methods: All skeletons were subjected to a careful macroscopic investigation, which was extended by radiological, stereo- and scanning electron microscopic analyses. Results: In 1 case, the mixed nature and localization of the lesions, as well as the sex and age of the individual, suggested breast cancer as the primary focus. In the other 2 cases, based on the mostly osteoblastic nature and the localization of the lesions as well as on the sex and age of the individuals, the most probable diagnostic option is prostate carcinoma with skeletal metastases. Conclusions: In view of the scarcity of cancer metastases that have been diagnosed in archeological specimens in general, identification of all examples of cancer in antiquity represents an important contribution both to paleopathology and to modern medicine.
Paleopathology is an important branch of physical anthropology, it involves the study of injuries and disease processes in ancient human populations. Infectious diseases are the most significant selective factors affecting human populations and they cause the most important pathological processes resulting in changes in bones. Specific bacterial causes of disease are associated with characteristic bone lesions that do not occur with infection caused by other bacterias. Examples of such infections include tuberculosis (TB), treponematosis and leprosy (Manchester 1983).Estimating the exact prevalence of skeletal TB in ancient populations is very difficult. Approximately 5% of chronic TB cases show typical lesions in the skeleton (Donoghue et al. 2004). Moreover, the results of the examination of a skeleton can be influenced by post-mortem damage to the skeletal remains resulting from burial. This paper presents the investigation of a skeleton that displayed changes suggestive of tuberculous spondylitis.In 2009, three skeletons from the Roman Period (second half of the III-IV centuries) were excavated in Győr, in western Hungary (Győr-Frigyes Laktanya site). These skeletons were found at a smaller settlement located near Arrabona, along the trade route between Arrabona and Savaria, another Roman settlement. Arrabona was built on the site of a modern-day town and an earlier Celtic settlement and it was one of the most important auxiliary Roman forts of the Danube Limes (Gabler 1967, Visy 2003a. The skeletal materials were kept in the Xántus János Museum in Győr. Morphological sex was determined and the age at death was estimated by the recommendations of Rösing et al. (2007). The paleopathological analysis was conducted by gross observation (Ortner 2003).Of the three specimens, one (KE69, male, 35-50 years old) showed no pathological changes in the skull or postcranial bones. Another (KE90, female, 25-35 years old) had no pathological lesions in the skull, but had nonspecific changes in the bones of the lower limbs. This skeleton showed slight periostitis on the medial surface of the left tibia and osteomyelitis in the right tibia, at the nutrient foramen.The third specimen (KE91), a complete skeleton of a 25-30-year-old female, had severe and distinctive lesions. The skeleton was well preserved and all the bones could be examined. Changes indicative of spinal TB were limited to certain sections of the spine, such as the thoracic region. The anterior and lateral surfaces of all the vertebral bones showed slight hypervascularisation and porosity was noted on these surfaces as well as on the upper and lower intervertebral plates. The porosity and hypervascularisation were more pronounced in the thoracic and lumbar vertebrae. Hypertrophic bone formation was observed in the second and third thoracic vertebrae (T2-T3) and marginal lipping, porosity and bone reaction were observed in the T4-T5 vertebral bodies. The most characteristic pathological changes were seen in the third and fourth thoracic vertebrae (Figs 1, 2). R...
2008 novembere és 2009 áprilisa között a Kulturális Örökségvédelmi Szakszolgálat megbízásából a Scott és Csoma szélerőmű-park területén, az Ács-Öbölkúti-dűlő lelőhelyen Fűköh Dániel vezetésével végeztek régészeti feltárást. A helyszínen egy késő római (3–4. századi) telep és a hozzá tartozó temető részletét sikerült feltárni. A feltárt 38 római kori sír a Magyar Nemzeti Múzeum leltározott gyűjteményébe tartozik. A nemi eloszlás alapján 18 esetben férfi, 13 esetben nő nyugodott a sírban. Az alacsony sírszám és a mennyiségében és minőségében nem reprezentatív temetőrészlet ellenére, a szükséges korrekciók után, kísérlet történt a halandósági viszonyok meghatározására. Mindenképpen figyelemre méltó a rövidfejűség magas aránya. Ha ezt a népességet is a római korban általános hosszúfejűség jellemezné, akkor azoknak a vizsgálható koponyák között is meg kellene jelenni. Ez az embertani megfigyelés mindenesetre szükségessé teszi a régészeti leletanyag körültekintő és alapos vizsgálatát.
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