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BENT BONES: THE PATHOLOGICAL ASSESSMENT OF TWO FETAL SKELETONS FROM THE DAKHLEH OASIS, EGYPT

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Date Issued:
2008
Abstract/Description:
The present study evaluates two fetal individuals (B532 and B625) from the Kellis 2 cemetery (Roman period circa A.D. 50 – A.D. 450), Dakhleh Oasis, Egypt, that display skeletal anomalies that may explain their death. Both individuals exhibit bowing of the long bones in addition to other skeletal deformities unique to each individual. To assess these pathologies a differential diagnosis based on the congenital occurrence of long bone bowing is developed. Long bone bowing is selected because it is the more prevalent abnormality in the paleopathological literature and the other abnormalities are not as easily identifiable in the literature. For the purposes of this study, the differential diagnosis is defined as a process of comparing the characteristics of known diseases with those shared by an archaeological specimen, in the anticipation of diagnosing the possible condition. It is expected that the differential diagnosis will assist in providing a thorough assessment of each skeleton and yield a possible diagnosis for the condition(s). Macroscopic and radiographic analyses are used to document and examine the bone abnormalities for each individual and compare the results with the developed differential diagnosis. Results suggest that the bent long bones of B532 were caused by osteogenesis imperfecta whereas the cause of the bent long bones of B625 is not clear. Further analyses of B625, including the pathologic abnormalities of its skull, suggest that the neural tube defect iniencephaly with associated encephalocele was the likely cause of the observed skeletal abnormalities. The abnormalities of the long bones complicate estimations of the age-at-death of these two individuals, thus the pars basilaris bone was used to assess age estimation. A population sample of 37 Kellis 2 fetal individuals allowed for the development of linear regression formulae of the pars basilaris measurements for long bone length estimates and a comparison of which would provide the most accurate age estimate. Finally, the diagnoses of the fetal specimens are considered in relation to the cultural aspects and disease pattern of the Kellis 2 cemetery
Title: BENT BONES: THE PATHOLOGICAL ASSESSMENT OF TWO FETAL SKELETONS FROM THE DAKHLEH OASIS, EGYPT.
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Name(s): Cope, Darcy, Author
Dupras, Tosha, Committee Chair
University of Central Florida, Degree Grantor
Type of Resource: text
Date Issued: 2008
Publisher: University of Central Florida
Language(s): English
Abstract/Description: The present study evaluates two fetal individuals (B532 and B625) from the Kellis 2 cemetery (Roman period circa A.D. 50 – A.D. 450), Dakhleh Oasis, Egypt, that display skeletal anomalies that may explain their death. Both individuals exhibit bowing of the long bones in addition to other skeletal deformities unique to each individual. To assess these pathologies a differential diagnosis based on the congenital occurrence of long bone bowing is developed. Long bone bowing is selected because it is the more prevalent abnormality in the paleopathological literature and the other abnormalities are not as easily identifiable in the literature. For the purposes of this study, the differential diagnosis is defined as a process of comparing the characteristics of known diseases with those shared by an archaeological specimen, in the anticipation of diagnosing the possible condition. It is expected that the differential diagnosis will assist in providing a thorough assessment of each skeleton and yield a possible diagnosis for the condition(s). Macroscopic and radiographic analyses are used to document and examine the bone abnormalities for each individual and compare the results with the developed differential diagnosis. Results suggest that the bent long bones of B532 were caused by osteogenesis imperfecta whereas the cause of the bent long bones of B625 is not clear. Further analyses of B625, including the pathologic abnormalities of its skull, suggest that the neural tube defect iniencephaly with associated encephalocele was the likely cause of the observed skeletal abnormalities. The abnormalities of the long bones complicate estimations of the age-at-death of these two individuals, thus the pars basilaris bone was used to assess age estimation. A population sample of 37 Kellis 2 fetal individuals allowed for the development of linear regression formulae of the pars basilaris measurements for long bone length estimates and a comparison of which would provide the most accurate age estimate. Finally, the diagnoses of the fetal specimens are considered in relation to the cultural aspects and disease pattern of the Kellis 2 cemetery
Identifier: CFE0002443 (IID), ucf:47697 (fedora)
Note(s): 2008-12-01
M.A.
Sciences, Department of Anthropology
Masters
This record was generated from author submitted information.
Subject(s): Paleopathology
Fetal skeleton
Dakhleh Oasis
Congenital abnormalities
Osteogenesis Imperfecta
Neural tube defect
skeletal aging
Persistent Link to This Record: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0002443
Restrictions on Access: public
Host Institution: UCF

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