Osteomyelitis in Quaternary mammal from the Rio Grande do Norte State, Brazil

Holes in the spinous processes of woolly mammoth vertebrae: spatial and temporal distribution, and the causes of pathology formation

“…The study of bone anomalies in modern and extinct mammals (including marine species) traditionally focuses on biotic aspects – infectious diseases, traumas, physical stress, genetic changes and others (Greer et al ., 1977; Rothschild and Rothschild, 1994; Fabiš, 2004; Rothschild and Martin, 2006; Woodman and Branstrator, 2008; Räikkönen et al ., 2009; Hellier et al ., 2011; Blondiaux et al ., 2012; Brothwell and Schreve, 2012; Rothschild and Diedrich, 2012; Barbosa et al ., 2013; Shpansky et al ., 2015; Germonpré et al ., 2016; Thomas, 2019). Thus, the role of the abiotic (especially geochemical) environment in the aetiology of skeletal system diseases for large mammals (including humans) is still poorly understood.…”

Paleopathologies of the Clavicles of the Giant Ground Sloth Megatherium americanum (Mammalia, Xenarthra) from the Pleistocene of the Pampean Region (Argentina)

“…Furthermore, trauma does not precisely fit with these pathological signs. The presence of a central erosion in the ac joint with draining sinuses, the proliferative vascularized tissue, and the sc joint with wooden aspect and draining sinuses can be related to a non-pyogenic infection (but, for the discussion regarding the possibility of differentiating pyogenic and non-pyogenic infections, see Barbosa et al, 2013Barbosa et al, , 2017Andrade et al, 2019), where a granuloma would have developed (Rothschild & Martin, 2006;Ortner, 2012;Ragsdale & Lehmer, 2012).…”

A preliminary review of bone and teeth abnormalities seen in recent Loxodonta and extinct Mammuthus and Mammut, and suggested implications

“…Injured animals with major traumatic fractures would not have been able to travel with the rest of their herd, and thus may have starved to death or collapsed from pain and weakness somewhere apart from the rest of the population represented at the site. Barbosa et al (2013) interpreted a pathological humerus from a South American gomphotherid proboscidean, Notiomastodon platensis Ameghino, 1888 (originally assigned to Haplomastodon waringi), as a likely case of tuberculosis osteomyelitis, but it is also possible the pathology resulted from chronic infection following traumatic fracturing. Rothschild and Laub (2006) proposed that tuberculosis was pandemic in late Pleistocene North America, based on the relatively high frequency of tuberculosis-like rib and foot-bone lesions found in over 100 Mammut americanum skeletons examined in museum collections.…”

“…7), and the innominate had a pre-mortem crack with early callus formation. The exostoses may have been signs of osteomyelitis, possibly a result of tuberculosis (Barbosa et al, 2013), or acute infection, or aftermath of injury associated with the crack in the innominate, perhaps resulting from intraspecific fighting.…”