Pasini Alba, Manzon Vanessa Samantha, Gonzalez-Muro Xabier, Gualdi-Russo Emanuela
Department of Biomedical and Specialty Surgical Sciences, University of Ferrara, Ferrara, Italy.
Department of Archaeology, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy.
World Neurosurg. 2018 May;113:78-81. doi: 10.1016/j.wneu.2018.02.044. Epub 2018 Feb 14.
Trepanation is one of the most ancient and applied surgical treatments; several archaeologically documented cases are known, dated back from prehistory to the Middle Ages. This case study reports the anthropologic analysis of the skeletal remains of a young medieval woman and a fetus (Imola, Italy). The fetal remains were laid between her pelvis and lower limbs. A perforating injury was observed to her frontal bone. After assessing biologic profiles, we attempted to interpret the injury and to reconstruct possible circumstances of death. The lesion seems commensurate with a surgical intervention; signs of an osteogenic reaction were detected at its edges. It can be hypothesized that the survival of the woman undergoing the surgery was approximately 1 week and the fetus extruded after the burial. Thus, this case represents a unicum, spreading more light on the history of neurosurgery during the Early Middle Ages in Europe.
环钻术是最古老且应用广泛的外科治疗方法之一；有几例经考古记录的病例，其年代可追溯到史前至中世纪。本案例研究报告了对一名中世纪年轻女性和一名胎儿骨骼遗骸（意大利伊莫拉）的人类学分析。胎儿遗骸位于她的骨盆和下肢之间。在她的额骨上观察到一处穿孔伤。在评估生物学特征后，我们试图解读该损伤并重建可能的死亡情形。该损伤似乎与外科手术干预相符；在其边缘检测到成骨反应的迹象。可以推测，接受手术的女性存活了大约1周，胎儿在埋葬后被挤出。因此，该案例独一无二，为欧洲中世纪早期的神经外科历史提供了更多线索。
