Department of Archaeology, Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts, Ante Kovačića 5, 10 000 Zagreb, Croatia.
Rheumatol Int. 2012 Dec;32(12):3985-92. doi: 10.1007/s00296-011-2343-7. Epub 2011 Dec 31.
Osteological changes consistent with ankylosing spondylitis were observed in three males and one female skeleton recovered from four medieval sites-Velim, Koprivno, Buje, and Rijeka-all situated on Croatia's eastern Adriatic coast and its immediate hinterland. The skeletons present changes in the spine, ribs, sacrum, and innominates that are typical of ankylosing spondylitis that is a progressive, inflammatory disease of connective tissue calcification. The disease most commonly affects the sacroiliac joints, the joints of the spine, and the costovertebral joints. In the final stages of the disease, the vertebral bodies remodel and together with the associated syndesmophytes form a continuous, smooth bone surface that is sometimes referred to as "bamboo spine." The prevalence of this disorder in the analyzed Croatian samples is 4/303 or 1.3% and thus corresponds with frequencies recorded in modern European populations. Differential diagnosis rules out the possibility of DISH, rheumatoid arthritis, and melorheostosis. These are the first cases of ankylosing spondylitis identified in Croatian archaeological series.
从位于克罗地亚东部亚得里亚海沿岸及其内陆的四个中世纪遗址（Velim、Koprivno、Buje 和 Rijeka）出土的四具骨骼中观察到与强直性脊柱炎一致的骨骼变化，这四具骨骼分别来自三男一女。这些骨骼的脊柱、肋骨、骶骨和髋骨都发生了变化，这些变化是强直性脊柱炎的典型特征。强直性脊柱炎是一种进行性、炎症性结缔组织钙化疾病，最常影响骶髂关节、脊柱关节和肋椎关节。在疾病的晚期，椎体重塑，与相关的骨桥一起形成一个连续的、光滑的骨表面，有时被称为“竹状脊柱”。在分析的克罗地亚样本中，这种疾病的患病率为 4/303 或 1.3%，与现代欧洲人群中的记录频率相符。鉴别诊断排除了弥漫性特发性骨肥厚（DISH）、类风湿性关节炎和干骺端肥厚症的可能性。这是克罗地亚考古系列中首次发现强直性脊柱炎病例。
