Zimmerman M R
Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Hahnemann University, Philadelphia, PA 19102.
Tex Heart Inst J. 1993;20(4):252-7.
Paleopathology, the study of disease in ancient remains, adds the dimension of time to our study of health and disease. The oldest preserved heart is from a mummified rabbit of the Pleistocene epoch, over 20,000 years old. Cardiovascular disease has been identified in human mummies from Alaska and Egypt, covering a time span ranging from approximately 3,000 to 300 years ago. An experimental study suggests that the potential exists for identifying a wide range of cardiovascular pathologic conditions in mummified remains. The antiquity and ubiquity of arteriosclerotic heart disease is considered in terms of pathogenesis.
古病理学是对古代遗骸中疾病的研究，它为我们对健康与疾病的研究增添了时间维度。保存最古老的心脏来自一只更新世时期的木乃伊兔子，距今已有两万多年历史。在阿拉斯加和埃及的人类木乃伊中已发现心血管疾病，时间跨度约为公元前3000年至300年。一项实验研究表明，在木乃伊遗骸中识别多种心血管病理状况具有可能性。从发病机制方面考虑了动脉粥样硬化性心脏病的古老性和普遍性。
