Micro-CT evaluation of historical human skulls presenting signs of syphilitic infection

The role of radiology in provenance research - experiences from the collaboration between radiology and anatomy at the University of Rostock and future perspectives

Worldwide, the study and examination of human remains and the circumstances of their acquisition for anatomical collection have received great interest. As part of provenance research projects, a large number of collections are being investigated to determine whether the human remains have been acquired in a correct or unlawful way because the people could have been killed in order to be used as "anthropological objects" for research purposes and to become so-called "specimens". These topics have also been addressed by the Institute of Anatomy at the University Medical Center Rostock. The role of radiology in this interdisciplinary project will be presented using selected examples.The anatomical collection at the University of Rostock includes 40 human skulls, 14 plaster casts, 6 Egyptian mummy heads, and 1 full-body mummy. In addition to the examination by a historian, an anthropologist, and forensic pathologists, additional computed tomography was carried out on nine skulls and the full-body mummy. Micro-computed tomography was also carried out on seven skulls in order to enable a look behind the mummification material and tissue remains.(Micro-)computed tomography was able to close diagnostic gaps and the results presented some rather unexpected findings.Due to interdisciplinary collaboration, individual fates could be determined, which provided information about the individual's life and death circumstances. None of the examined individuals showed evidence of colonial-era injustice or the use of violence that would have led to their inclusion in the collection. (Micro-)computed tomography was a valuable addition to this provenance research project. · Computed tomography enhances interdisciplinary provenance research projects.. · Computed tomography enables a non-destructive examination of human remains.. · The future of research and presentation of human remains will increasingly be virtual.. · Steinhagen I, Brinker U, Kolbe V et al. The role of radiology in provenance research - experiences from the collaboration between radiology and anatomy at the University of Rostock and future perspectives. Fortschr Röntgenstr 2024; DOI 10.1055/a-2303-0312.

How suture networks improve the protective function of natural structures: A multiscale investigation

Myriad natural protective structures consist of bone plates joined by convoluted unmineralized (soft) collagenous sutures. Examples of such protective structures include: shells of turtles, craniums of almost all animals (including humans), alligator armour, armadillo armour, and others. The function of sutures has been well researched. However, whether, and if so how, sutures improve protective performance during a predator attack has received limited attention. Sutures are ubiquitous in protective structures, and this motivates the question as to whether sutures optimize the protective function of the structure. Hence, in this work the behaviour of structures that contain sutures during predator attacks is investigated. We show that sutures decrease the maximum strain energy density that turtle shells experience during predator attacks by more than an order of magnitude. Hence, sutures make turtle shells far more resilient to material failure, such as, fracture, damage, and plastic deformations. Additionally, sutures increase the viscous behaviour of the shell causing increased dissipation of energy during predator attacks. Further investigations into the influence of sutures on behaviour during locomotion and breathing are also presented. The results presented in this work motivate the inclusion of sutures in biomimetically designed protective structures, such as helmets and protective clothing. STATEMENT OF SIGNIFICANCE: Myriad bony protective structures contain networks of sutures, that is con- voluted soft collagenous tissue. Their ubiquity motivates the question, whether, and if so how, sutures improve protective performance. Hence, this work inves- tigates how sutures affect protective performance using computational experi- ments. Due to the length scale of sutures being far smaller than the structures in which they reside, classical modelling approaches are prohibitively expensive. Hence, in this work, a multiscale approach is taken. To our knowledge, this is the first multiscale investigation of structures that contain sutures. Among other insights, we show that sutures decrease the maximum strain energy density in structures during predator attacks by over an order of mag- nitude. Hence, sutures make structures far more resilient to failure.

Microarchitecture of historic bone samples with tuberculosis

Tuberculosis is among the leading causes of death from infectious diseases and affects many organ systems, including the skeleton. Skeletal tuberculosis is an extrapulmonary stage of tuberculosis, which occurs after the early and post-primary pulmonary stages of the disease. The aim of our study was to assess the microarchitecture of historic dry bone samples of subjects who have died of tuberculosis documented by post-mortem examinations. These preparations date to the pre-antibiotic era, and were provided by the Pathological-Anatomical Collection in the “Fools Tower” of the Natural History Museum Vienna (PASiN-NHM).

We investigated macerated samples of 20 vertebral bodies, 19 femoral heads, and 20 tibiae of a total of 59 individuals diagnosed with tuberculosis from the nineteenth and early twentieth century. 10 femora and 10 tibiae from body donors that did not exhibit signs of infection and 10 (unaffected) vertebrae kept at the PASiN-NHM were studied as controls. The affected regions of the bone samples (and the corresponding regions of the control bones) were analyzed by microcomputed tomography using a Viscom X 8060 II system. Obtained images were analyzed semi-quantitatively. In samples with tuberculosis, independent of the investigated skeletal region, trabecular defects and decreased trabecular thickness were observed. Cortical porosity was seen in affected vertebrae and tibia; in tuberculous tibiae (but not in the femora) cortical thickness was decreased. In half of the individuals, cortical sclerosis was present; signs of ankylosis were observed mainly at the femoral heads affected with tuberculosis. We conclude that a combination of several alterations at the trabecular compartment could be suggestive of the presence of tuberculosis in historic skeletal remains.