A very rare case of possible actinomycosis of the mandible from the Middle Ages

A probable case of "lumpy jaw" in early medieval (11th - 12th c.) cattle from a stronghold in Kruszwica, Poland

OBJECTIVE

The purpose of this article is to try to determine the probable cause of the disease from which the study animal suffered.

MATERIALS

The skeletal material included a caudal fragment of a cattle mandible. The specimen, exhibiting chronic disease was separated from approximately 10,000 early medieval cattle remains discovered during excavations of the former Kruszwica stronghold.

METHODS

The bone was underwent macroscopic, radiological and histopathological examination.

RESULTS

Location, macroscopic, microscopic and X-ray images of the lesions within the examined mandible indicate it could have been caused by the actinomycosis.

CONCLUSIONS

In the face of infection, no effective therapies were undertaken in the Middle Ages.

SIGNIFICANCE

Descriptions of lumpy jaw in the paleopathological literature are rare. This disease, due to its background and course, eliminated animals from breeding for centuries until the era of antibiotics. The case described in our paper is in an advanced stage, but its adult age suggests that efforts were possibly made to keep the cow alive as long as possible, indicating the significant economic importance of the animal.

LIMITATIONS

This analysis is limited by the absence of other anatomical elements of the affected animal, which impacts the interpretation of the palaeopathological bone.

SUGGESTIONS FOR FURTHER RESEARCH

It is recommended that similar studies are conducted on better preserved and more numerous cattle assemblages.