Histology of pulmonary tuberculosis in a 19th-century mummy from Comiso (Sicily, Italy)

IF 1.3 3区地球科学 Q3 PALEONTOLOGY

International Journal of Paleopathology Pub Date : 2024-11-11 DOI:10.1016/j.ijpp.2024.11.001

Raffaele Gaeta , Valentina Giuffra , Frank Maixner , Giacomo Aringhieri , Antonio Fornaciari

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Objective

The aim of this study is to investigate potential evidence of tuberculosis in mummified remains.

Materials

The natural mummy of an anonymous friar from the mortuary chapel of the church of Santa Maria della Grazia in Comiso (Sicily)

Methods

The mummy was studied through macroscopic examination; tissue sampling was conducted through breaches in the dorsal surface of the thorax. Radiological, histological and immunohistochemical analyses were performed on the pulmonary parenchyma.

Results

The mummified remains are those of an adult male approximately 25–45 years old. In the left lung, 7 intra parenchymal calcified nodules were detected. The fibrocalcific nodules showed some lacunae surrounded by fibrous tissue containing amorphous necrotic, most probably caseous, material.

Conclusions

These findings are compatible with a chronic infectious-inflammatory disease, likely a calcification of a previous Ghon complex of an apical nodular tuberculosis.

Significance

Our study supports the great spread of the disease in the 19th century; a time when it reached its maximum peak in Europe.

Limitations

Molecular investigations failed to detect traces of Mycobacterium tuberculosis DNA in the sample.

Suggestions for further research

The investigation on the mummies from Comiso is still in progress, and further analyses will potentially provide paleopathological data on this community of Modern Age which could be integrated with historical and archival sources.

查看原文本刊更多论文

科米索（意大利西西里岛）一具 19 世纪木乃伊的肺结核组织学研究。

目的：本研究旨在调查木乃伊遗骸中结核病的潜在证据：本研究旨在调查木乃伊遗骸中结核病的潜在证据：材料：科米索（西西里岛）圣玛丽亚德拉格拉西亚教堂停尸房中一具无名修士的天然木乃伊方法：通过宏观检查对木乃伊进行研究；通过胸部背面的破损处进行组织取样。对肺实质进行了放射学、组织学和免疫组化分析：木乃伊遗骸是一具大约 25-45 岁的成年男性遗骸。在左肺中发现了 7 个实质内钙化结节。纤维钙化结节显示出一些裂隙，周围是纤维组织，内含无定形坏死物，很可能是酪质：这些发现与慢性感染-炎症性疾病相符，很可能是以前的根尖结节性结核的 Ghon 复合物的钙化：意义：我们的研究证实了该疾病在 19 世纪的广泛传播，当时该疾病在欧洲达到了最高峰：局限性：分子调查未能在样本中检测到结核分枝杆菌 DNA 的痕迹：对科米索木乃伊的调查仍在进行中，进一步的分析将有可能提供有关这个现代社会的古病理学数据，这些数据可与历史和档案资料相结合。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

International Journal of Paleopathology PALEONTOLOGY-PATHOLOGY

CiteScore

2.90

自引率

25.00%

发文量

期刊介绍： Paleopathology is the study and application of methods and techniques for investigating diseases and related conditions from skeletal and soft tissue remains. The International Journal of Paleopathology (IJPP) will publish original and significant articles on human and animal (including hominids) disease, based upon the study of physical remains, including osseous, dental, and preserved soft tissues at a range of methodological levels, from direct observation to molecular, chemical, histological and radiographic analysis. Discussion of ways in which these methods can be applied to the reconstruction of health, disease and life histories in the past is central to the discipline, so the journal would also encourage papers covering interpretive and theoretical issues, and those that place the study of disease at the centre of a bioarchaeological or biocultural approach. Papers dealing with historical evidence relating to disease in the past (rather than history of medicine) will also be published. The journal will also accept significant studies that applied previously developed techniques to new materials, setting the research in the context of current debates on past human and animal health.