Jenna M. Dittmar , Bram Mulder , Anna Tran , Piers D. Mitchell , Peter D. Jones , Sarah A. Inskip , Craig Cessford , John E. Robb
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引用次数: 1
Abstract
Objective
To combine paleopathological and biomechanical analysis to reconstruct the impact that a severe skeletal injury had on an individual’s ability to function and participate in medieval society.
Materials
Three medieval individuals from Cambridge, England with ante-mortem fractures to the lower limb were analyzed.
Methods
Plain X-rays were used to determine the degree of malunion, rotation and overlap of each fracture. Cortical bone architecture of the injured individuals and 28 uninjured controls were analyzed using micro-computed tomography (µCT). Clinical and functional consequences were examined using the Bioarcheology of Care framework.
Results
The mechanism of injury, the secondary complications, and the extent of the care received was reconstructed for each individual. Bilateral asymmetry in the cortical bone architecture revealed the long-term alterations to each individual’s gait.
Conclusion
Each of these individuals survived a severe injury resulting in chronic physical impairment, though not all would have been considered ‘disabled’.
Significance
This research contributes to the discussion about medieval care provision and social constructions of disability by illustrating how an interdisciplinary approach provides insight into the experiences of those with physical impairments. The integration of µCT imaging within the Bioarcheology of Care model is a novel approach with great potential for application across the field.
Limitations
Biomechanical analysis was restricted to cortical geometry.
Suggestions for future research
Further study of bilateral asymmetry in trabecular architecture could complement our understanding of altered loading modalities in past societies.
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.