trauma

  • Paleopathology: study of ancient suffering

       paleo-ancient

       Pathos- suffering

       Logos- study

  • Bioarcheology and bio anthropology

  • Primary evidence of disease in the past, prevalence of disease of populations, history of disease without medical

  • Forensic anthropology aids in the identification effort of unknown decedents and prevents the misinterpretation of lesions

  • Pathological condition: abnormal anatomy due to a disease process

  • Don't use the word stress or health

 

Intro

  • Pathology studies diseases

  • 5 to 20 percent of diseases affect bones

 

Limitations

  • Disease must be chronic and acute disease cannot be diagnosed from skeletal remains

  • needs to impact bone

  • Not able to estimate cause of death from disease

  • Osteological lesions are not common

  • osteological paradox

 

Value

  • Clinical data is not always directly compared to osteological data, but it needs to be

  •  Due in part to the shift from bioarcheology to forensic anthropology

  • Osteological assessment of lesions in an attempt to identify diseases must have a biological, clinical basis

 

Bone Balance

  • Wolf's law: form follows function

  • These responses are limited by bone cells: osteoblasts, osteoclasts, osteocytes

• And they: build bone, remove bone, maintain bone

  • Bone Balance: the rate of bone removal and bone formation

  • Increasing age= more cortical bone

  • Increasing age= larger medullary cavity

  • Bone is destroyed quicker than built

 

Pathological mechanisms

  • Diseases impact bone balance

  • Localized bony alterations called lesions

  • Proliferative or erosive

 

Types of lesions

  • Proliferative= osteoproliferative or blastic

  • Blastic=build up

  • Pressure

 

  • Lifting of bone

  • Erosive

  • Lytic=loss

 

Skeletal healing

  • Respond to injury within 10-14 days

  • Subadults respond faster 2x more than adults

  • Leaves as woven bone

 

Recording lesions

  • Documenting lesions

  • First step is to identify and record distribution( on bone then across skeleton)

  • Second, describe the lesions or feature using standard but general terms (describe size, shape, height, texture, density, definition and shape of margins

  • Take note of age and sex of individual

 

Differential diagnosis

  • Differential diagnosis: deductive process used to narrow down and identify a likely condition or a small number of possibilities that cannot be excluded

1. Describe the lesion

        2. Rule out conditions inconsistent with observations

        3. Use normal antimere if possible

        4. Use additional methods: radiographs, histology, etc.

        5. Be cautious, describe if identification is not possible

        6. supplement with notes, diagrams, photos, etc

 

Classifying Pathology

  • Joint: anything involving the joints (arthropathy) (osteoarthritis common)

  •  Metabolic: imbalance of osteoblast to osteoclast activity

  •  Infections/Inflammation: (mostly) swelling of bone

  • Non-specific or specific

  • Tumours/Neoplasia – overgrowth of bone

  •  Congenital: genetic conditions (As opposed to acquired conditions or diseases)

  •  Trauma: injuries to bone

 

Infectious diseases

  • Rickets- bones are soft due to lack of vitamin D(children)

  • Osteoporosis: too much loss of trabecular bone

  • periostitis- inflammation of periosteum

  • Osteitis- inflammation of cortex

  • Osteomyelitis- inflammation

  • Syphilis

  • Tuberculosis

  • Tumors/neoplasia

  • Pseudopathological- appears pathological but is not