A Case of Congenital Radioulnar Synostosis from Prehispanic Peru

Abstract

A rare example of congenital radioulnar synostosis was observed in a sample of 160 male, female, and juvenile Lambayeque (Sicán) skeletons excavated from Huaca Cao Viejo, a mud brick platform mound built during the Early Intermediate Period and later utilized by a Late Intermediate Period Lambayeque population (ca. AD 950-1250) for interments. The affected individual was a young female, estimated to be 16-18 years of age at the time of death. To date, this is the first case of congenital radioulnar synostosis to be described from an archaeological context in South America, and one of 13 reported archaeological cases worldwide.

A rare case of congenital humeroradioulnar synostosis from medieval Pawłów Trzebnicki, Poland

“…To the best of our knowledge, the case presented here is the first documented example of CHRUS and CHUS from an archaeological context. Like previous scholars, we stress the importance of using gross and radiographic evidence to analyse all skeletal elements with congenital abnormalities (Antón & Polidoro, 2000;Mann, Thomas, & Adams, 1998;Titelbaum & Verano, 2015). This will increase our understanding of (a) the secondary effects of congenital abnormalities to the rest of the skeleton and (b) the geographic distribution of these conditions in the archaeological record.…”

“…Like the right ulna, the left ulnar interosseous crest is located anteriorly, also suggesting an altered position of the anterior and posterior musculature of the T A B L E 1 Upper limb synostosis in the paleopathological literature. Adapted fromTitelbaum & Verano (2015) ; "biological information should be viewed as tentative"…”