Tondini Tatiana, Isidro Albert, Camarós Edgard
Institute for Archaeological Sciences, Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany.
Department of Archaeology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom.
Front Med (Lausanne). 2024 May 29;11:1371645. doi: 10.3389/fmed.2024.1371645. eCollection 2024.
The present case studies report malignant neoplastic and traumatic lesions observed on two ancient Egyptian skulls held at the Duckworth Collection (Cambridge University). The analysis aims to characterise the lesions and provide a diagnosis using a methodology based on micro-CT scanning and microscopic bone surface analysis. Results pointed towards neoplastic lesions in both cases and healed severe skull trauma in one of them suggesting successful traumatological therapy. Interestingly, our analysis has identified the presence of perimortem cutmarks associated with metastatic lytic lesions in one of the skulls, indicating a potential surgical treatment attempt or postmortem medical exploration. We argue that the two cases, although not contemporary, allow a palaeopathological discussion on oncological and traumatological understanding and management of such conditions in the past. The confrontation of two potential managements represented by two different types of lesions represent a clear boundary in ancient Egyptian medical care and a milestone in the history of medicine.
本病例研究报告了在剑桥大学达科沃斯收藏馆保存的两具古埃及头骨上观察到的恶性肿瘤性病变和创伤性病变。分析旨在对病变进行特征描述，并使用基于显微CT扫描和微观骨表面分析的方法进行诊断。结果表明两例均为肿瘤性病变，其中一例存在愈合的严重颅骨创伤，提示创伤治疗成功。有趣的是，我们的分析在其中一个头骨上发现了与转移性溶骨性病变相关的濒死切割痕迹，这表明可能进行了手术治疗尝试或死后医学探查。我们认为，这两个病例虽非同一时期，但有助于就过去此类病症的肿瘤学和创伤学理解及管理展开古病理学讨论。两种不同类型病变所代表的两种潜在治疗方式的对比，在古埃及医疗中是一个明确的界限，也是医学史上的一个里程碑。
