Duff E J, Johnson J S
Br Med J. 1974 Mar 23;1(5907):563-7. doi: 10.1136/bmj.1.5907.563.
The aetiological aspects of exhumed remains from two burial sites were examined using 1839 and 1879 as years of comparison. We tried to discover whether the sample of recovered remains was representative of those buried. The state of the remains varied according to the type of soil and coffin material in which they were buried. At the earlier date most deaths were caused by infectious lesions rather than degenerative ones and 76% of those who died were below employable age-whereas in 1879 the commonest causes of death were tuberculosis ("phthisis") and bronchitis, and 42% died before they could be employed. The registration of deaths were recorded more accurately at the later date, and it was easier to build up a picture of the age, sex, and occupation of the people who died.
以1839年和1879年作为比较年份，对来自两个墓地出土遗骸的病因学方面进行了研究。我们试图查明所发掘遗骸样本是否能代表那些被埋葬者。遗骸的状况因埋葬土壤类型和棺材材料而异。在较早时期，大多数死亡是由感染性病变而非退行性病变导致的，76%的死者未达就业年龄——而在1879年，最常见的死因是肺结核（“痨病”）和支气管炎，42%的人在能够就业之前就已死亡。在较晚时期，死亡登记记录得更为准确，也更容易梳理出死者的年龄、性别和职业情况。
