Correlation of atherosclerosis and osteoarthritis in ancient Egypt: A standardized evaluation of 45 whole-body CT examinations

Panzer, Stephanie; Augat, Peter; Sprenger, Martin; Zesch, Stephanie; Rosendahl, Wilfried; Sutherland, M. Linda; Thompson, Randall C.; Paladin, Alice; Zink, Albert; Eurac,; Teams, Horus Study

doi:10.1016/j.ijpp.2021.04.004

Cited by 5 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 46 publications

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“…Seventeen records evaluated chronic, infectious, or neoplastic diseases. Cardiovascular diseases were demonstrated in 10 studies (Allam et al, 2011;Chandrashekhar and Narula, 2011;Thompson et al, 2013Thompson et al, , 2014Clarke et al, 2014;Wann and Thomas, 2014;Wann et al, 2015;Gabrovsky et al, 2016;Panzer et al, 2021;Herrerín et al, 2022), while 7 (Friedrich et al, 2010;Hussein et al, 2013;Lacout et al, 2016aLacout et al, , 2016bHerrerin et al, 2018;Ventura et al, 2021) assessed the aforementioned pathological conditions. Today, CVD represents the leading cause of death worldwide in both men and women, accounting for at least one-third of all deaths in women and half of deaths in women over 50 years in developing countries (Vaccarezza et al, 2020).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In 2016, Gabrovsky et al (Gabrovsky et al, 2016), suggested that the chew-Discover the anatomy of the mummies: how imaging techniques contribute to understanding disease in the past ing of coca leaves, a habitual cultural practice unique to South American populations might have beneficial effects in decreasing cardiovascular risk among ancient people living in South America. Moreover, Panzer et al (Panzer et al, 2021), tried to correlate atherosclerosis and osteoarthritis in mummies from ancient Egypt. The authors examined the whole-body CT of 45 mummies and demonstrated for the first time a possible correlation between these diseases with enormous and increasing impacts on public health.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Discover the anatomy of the mummies: how imaging techniques contribute to understanding disease in the past

Papa,

Vaccarezza,

Galassi

et al. 2023

Ital J Anat Embryol

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Mummies are the well-preserved remains of humans or animals in which non-bony tissue has been maintained naturally or artificially. Their significance lies in their contribution to paleopathological research, which involves understanding the history and evolution of diseases and providing insights into past populations’ cultural and social practices. In recent years, mummies studies used nondestructive methods, including modern imaging techniques, to assess the main pathological features of these unique human remains. This mini-review focuses on the role of paleoradiology in mummies’ studies and describes the history of mummy radiography and CT scanning over the last fifteen years. The search strategy was conducted between January and April 2023. One thousand one hundred twenty-four records (1124) were initially identified, and 52 studies were assessed for qualitative synthesis. Three main themes and four subthemes were identified, providing a general overview of the role of paleoradiology or offering methodological guidelines. Also, subthemes assessed the role that the use of radiology has in the diagnosis of specific pathologies. Therefore, imaging techniques in ancient human remains might help understand the history and evolution of past and present diseases and their risk factors.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Discover the anatomy of the mummies: how imaging techniques contribute to understanding disease in the past

Papa,

Vaccarezza,

Galassi

et al. 2023

Ital J Anat Embryol

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“…Regarding the paleopathology of cardiac disease in ancient Egyptian mummies, there are several studies on atherosclerosis that include both coronary artery disease and calcification of the heart valves (Abdelfattah et al, 2013; Allam et al, 2009; Allam et al, 2011; Panzer et al, 2021; Ruffer, 1911; Sandison, 1962; Thompson et al, 2013). However, reports on pathology of the myocardium are sparse, and we found only two histological studies.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Large mummy collections from the Ägyptisches Museum und Papyrussammlung, Berlin, Germany, and the Museo Egizio, Turin, Italy, were investigated in collaboration with the Institute for Mummy Studies of Eurac Research and the Horus Study Team and included whole‐body CT examinations (Samadelli et al, 2019). For this study, 23 recently described subadult and adult mummies from Berlin and 22 from Turin were selected (Panzer et al, 2021) (Appendix S1). Inclusion criteria were largely based on the integrity of the mummies, with the exception of peripheral structures of the extremities.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Preservation of the heart in ancient Egyptian mummies: A computed tomography investigation with focus on the myocardium

Panzer,

Paladin,

Zesch

et al. 2024

Clinical Anatomy

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The ancient Egyptians considered the heart to be the most important organ. The belief that the heart remained in the body is widespread in the archeological and paleopathological literature. The purpose of this study was to perform an overview of the preserved intrathoracic structures and thoracic and abdominal cavity filling, and to determine the prevalence and computed tomography (CT) characteristics of the myocardium in the preserved hearts of ancient Egyptian mummies. Whole‐body CT examinations of 45 ancient Egyptian mummies (23 mummies from the Ägyptisches Museum und Papyrussammlung, Berlin, Germany, and 22 mummies from the Museo Egizio, Turin, Italy) were systematically assessed for preserved intrathoracic soft tissues including various anatomical components of the heart (pericardium, interventricular septum, four chambers, myocardium, valves). Additionally, evidence of evisceration and cavity filling was documented. In cases with identifiable myocardium, quantitative (measurements of thickness and density) and qualitative (description of the structure) assessment of the myocardial tissue was carried out. Heart structure was identified in 28 mummies (62%). In 33 mummies, CT findings demonstrated evisceration, with subsequent cavity filling in all but one case. Preserved myocardium was identified in nine mummies (five male, four female) as a mostly homogeneous, shrunken structure. The posterior wall of the myocardium had a mean maximum thickness of 3.6 mm (range 1.4–6.6 mm) and a mean minimum thickness of 1.0 mm (range 0.5–1.7 mm). The mean Hounsfield units (HU) of the myocardium at the posterior wall was 61 (range, 185–305). There was a strong correlation between the HU of the posterior wall of the myocardium and the mean HU of the muscles at the dorsal humerus (R = 0.77; p = 0.02). In two cases, there were postmortem changes in the myocardium, most probably due to insect infestation. To our knowledge, this is the first study to investigate the myocardium systematically on CT scans of ancient Egyptian mummies. Strong correlations between the densities of the myocardium and skeletal muscle indicated similar postmortem changes of the respective musculature during the mummification process within individual mummies. The distinct postmortem shrinking of the myocardium and the collapse of the left ventriclular cavity in several cases did not allow for paleopathological diagnoses such as myocardial scarring.

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Evolution of orthopaedic diseases through four thousand three hundred years: from ancient Egypt with virtual examinations of mummies to the twenty-first century

Hernigou,

Hosny,

Scarlat

2023

International Orthopaedics (SICOT)

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Correlation of atherosclerosis and osteoarthritis in ancient Egypt: A standardized evaluation of 45 whole-body CT examinations

Cited by 5 publications

References 46 publications

Discover the anatomy of the mummies: how imaging techniques contribute to understanding disease in the past

Discover the anatomy of the mummies: how imaging techniques contribute to understanding disease in the past

Preservation of the heart in ancient Egyptian mummies: A computed tomography investigation with focus on the myocardium

Evolution of orthopaedic diseases through four thousand three hundred years: from ancient Egypt with virtual examinations of mummies to the twenty-first century

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