Previgliano Carlos H, Ceruti Constanza, Reinhard Johan, Araoz Facundo Arias, Diez Josefina Gonzalez
Institute of High Mountain Research, Catholic University of Salta, Pellegrini 790, Salta A4400FYP, Argentina.
AJR Am J Roentgenol. 2003 Dec;181(6):1473-9. doi: 10.2214/ajr.181.6.1811473.
Our purpose was to determine the imaging findings in three 500-year-old frozen mummies of sacrificial Inca children.
CT, conventional radiography, and dental radiography of Inca mummies were reviewed. Different techniques, which were adjusted to the anatomic position of the bodies, were used for radiologic analyses. Working sessions were limited to 20 min because of the fragility of these mummies and to prevent thawing of the specimens.
Internal organs in good condition with a natural shrinkage caused by dehydration were shown on CT scans. Both white and gray matter were clearly observed in the brain and cerebellum. The white matter and the fatty tissue of the bodies were visibly white. This condition was possibly caused by the transformation of the fatty tissue into a waxlike substance and the deposition of calcium salts. The lungs were expanded in all three mummies. The ages of the three children at the time of their deaths were estimated by means of radiographs of the teeth and long bones. Bone mineralization, the muscular volume, and the thickness of the adipose panniculus indicated the good nutritional state of the three Inca children. The spleen was not visualized in any case.
Radiology helped us determine the state of the internal organs, the nutritional conditions, and the physical abnormalities of the naturally mummified children. These mummies can be considered among the best preserved mummies currently known.
我们的目的是确定三具500年前的印加祭祀儿童冰冻木乃伊的影像学表现。
回顾了印加木乃伊的CT、传统X线摄影和牙科X线摄影。根据尸体的解剖位置调整不同技术用于放射学分析。由于这些木乃伊的脆弱性以及为防止标本解冻，工作时间限制在20分钟。
CT扫描显示内部器官状况良好，因脱水导致自然萎缩。大脑和小脑中白质和灰质均清晰可见。尸体的白质和脂肪组织明显呈白色。这种情况可能是由于脂肪组织转化为蜡样物质以及钙盐沉积所致。三具木乃伊的肺部均呈扩张状态。通过牙齿和长骨的X线片估计了三个孩子死亡时的年龄。骨矿化、肌肉体积和皮下脂肪厚度表明这三名印加儿童营养状况良好。在任何情况下均未显示脾脏。
放射学帮助我们确定了自然木乃伊化儿童的内部器官状态、营养状况和身体异常情况。这些木乃伊可被视为目前已知保存最完好的木乃伊之一。
