Papageorgopoulou Christina, Link Karl, Rühli Frank J
Laboratory of Anthropology, Department of History and Ethnology, Demokritus University of Thrace, Komotini, GR-69100, Greece.
Centre for Evolutionary Medicine, Institute of Anatomy, University of Zurich, 8057, Zurich, Switzerland.
Anat Rec (Hoboken). 2015 Jun;298(6):1059-71. doi: 10.1002/ar.23148.
In 2007, the baby woolly mammoth (Mammuthus primigenius) named Lyuba was found frozen in the Siberian tundra permafrost along the Yuribey River. She was proclaimed the best-preserved mammoth discovery. As part of the endoscopic examination of Lyuba, tissue samples of hair, muscle, and internal organs were taken. The sectioned biopsies were stained using standard and special histological stains. In general, the microscopic preservation of the tissue was good although no clearly identifiable cell nuclei were found by standard staining methods. Only a few cell nuclei could be identified in some samples when fluorescence stained with DAPI. The best-preserved structures were collagen fibers and muscle tissue, which gave some structural resemblance to the organs. In the hairs, evidence of pigmentation, a scaly surface, diagonal intra-hair structures, and a medulla were seen. Fat droplets could be identified with Sudan Red in the subcutaneous fat sample and in several organs. Bacteria were seen on the lumen side of the small intestine and caecum, and in the liver and lung tissue. In addition, fungi and pollen were seen in the lung sample. In the wall of the caecum and small intestine, blood vessels and nerves were visualized. Iron was identified in the vivianite sample. Some biopsies compared well structurally with the African elephant tissue sections. The histological findings support the theory that Lyuba drowned in muddy water. The microscopic tissue preservation and cell nuclei destruction indicate that Lyuba's body underwent at least one freeze-thaw cycle.
2007年，名为柳芭的幼年猛犸象（真猛犸象）被发现冻在尤列贝伊河沿岸的西伯利亚苔原永久冻土中。她被宣布为保存最完好的猛犸象发现。作为对柳芭进行内窥镜检查的一部分，采集了毛发、肌肉和内脏的组织样本。切片活检用标准和特殊组织学染色剂染色。总体而言，组织的微观保存状况良好，尽管用标准染色方法未发现清晰可辨的细胞核。用DAPI进行荧光染色时，在一些样本中仅能识别出少数细胞核。保存最完好的结构是胶原纤维和肌肉组织，它们与器官有一些结构上的相似之处。在毛发中，可见色素沉着、鳞状表面、毛发内对角线结构和髓质的迹象。在皮下脂肪样本和几个器官中，用苏丹红可识别出脂肪滴。在小肠和盲肠的管腔侧、肝脏和肺组织中可见细菌。此外，在肺样本中可见真菌和花粉。在盲肠和小肠壁中，可见血管和神经。在蓝铁矿样本中鉴定出了铁。一些活检在结构上与非洲象组织切片比较相似。组织学研究结果支持柳芭死于浑水之中的理论。微观组织保存和细胞核破坏表明柳芭的尸体至少经历了一个冻融循环。
