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The presented work is focused on the palaeopathological analysis of the skeletal remains of 22 individuals (11 adults, two adolescents, nine children) from Modřice (Brno-Country District, Czech Republic) dated to the period of the FunnelBeaker Culture (4000--3700 BC). It represents a group of settled farmers. Compared to similarly dated groups, the Modřice skeletons had a very high rate of tooth decay. Of the congenital malformations, skeletal (scaphocephaly) and spinal (vertebral synostosis, spondylolysis) disabilities were found here. Most of the inflammatory changes on the bones were observed in connection with dental diseases; two cases of otitis media and inflammatory foci on the cranial vault of one of the females were also recorded. Manifestations of chronic inflammation of unknown aetiology were noted in two individuals on the long bones of the limbs. Although the presented research was limited by the small number of examined skeletons, it presents new information about the health status of the studied population group and enriches the existing knowledge about this important Eneolithic population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the history of medicine, scurvy is associated mainly with great overseas discoveries in the 15th and 16th centuries. It is estimated that about 2 million sailors died of scurvy during this period of discovery. The occurrence of scurvy in the past is therefore well mapped in coastal countries, but insufficient attention has as yet been paid to its distribution among the civilian population inland. The presented communication summarizes the available information on this disease, obtained both from literary sources and from the study of direct evidence on skeletal remains from various dated archaeological sites in the Czech Lands (Bohemia, Moravia, Silesia), located in Central Europe. The study also seeks to capture the living conditions of individuals with scurvy, with a special focus on the nutrition of the studied population. It confirms the occurrence of this disease from prehistory to modern times. The endangered group is always children between 2 and 5 years of age, which corresponds to the period when breastfeeding ends and there is a transition to a solid diet. In modern times, scurvy is recorded mainly in social institutions (orphanages, foundling homes), prisons and in armies in times of war. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective of our study is to estimate the frequency and types of the tarsal coalition in the populations of the Czech Lands, where this type of data is still missing. Examined skeletal collections belong to seven different sites and periods (from the Early Bronze Age through the Migration Period and Middle Ages until the 20th century). Tarsal coalition is hereditary abnormal bridging between two tarsal bones (mainly talus, calcaneus, and navicular) which would normally be separate bones. The bridging is caused by a type of connective tissue. Gross macroscopic analysis and comparison with clinical and archaeological literature were used to detect the signs of tarsal coalition. In some cases, the analysis was combined with the radiographic examination. A total of 267 individuals from the following locations were observed: Mikulovice, Kolín, Praha-Zličín, Sady-Špitálky, Trutmanice, Znojmo, and skeletons of recent cadavers from the Department of Anatomy, Faculty of Medicine, Masaryk University, Brno. Another 212 isolated tarsal bones from Brno ossuary material (dated to the 13th-18th century and currently deposited in the Department of Anatomy) were also studied. We estimated that the frequency of tarsal coalition (when individuals from all seven studied archaeological collections were pooled) was 5.6 %. The tarsal coalition frequencies for individual collections ranged between 2.3 % - 10.3 %. If the ossuary material was included in the total tarsal coalition frequency calculations (the number of individuals from the ossuary material was calculated as the minimum number of individuals), the tarsal coalition frequency was 6.1 %. In most of the cases, the calcaneonavicular coalition was detected. The findings may expand our overall understanding of tarsal coalition and stimulate further clinical research when looking for a causal link between tarsal coalition and orthopaedic diseases, such as painful, rigid flatfoot (fibular spastic flatfoot, tarsal synostosis, or dysostosis), and their possible secondary complications (intra-articular trauma, infection, arthropathy, osteonecrosis, neoplasm). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The presented study is a part of a complex study focused on monitoring the origin and development of paediatric care in Moravia, one of the countries of the former Austrian monarchy. It observes the state of health and the causes of paediatric mortality from the 13th to the 19th centuries, on the basis of the study of available literary sources within the context of palaeopathological analyses of children's skeletal remains. The work also takes into account the social conditions, as changes in the Moravian healthcare sector occurred in the period under review in connection with the Theresian and Josephine reforms. Due to the lack of qualified medical staff, the development of Obstetrics and Pediatrics was much slower than other fields of medicine. Sick children were reliant only on the assistance of private doctors, whose care was unavailable to poor families. In the first public health facilities, only children older than 10 years of age were hospitalised with adults. Younger children were given institutional care only from 1846, after the establishment of the Children's Hospital of St. Cyril and Methodius in Brno. In this part of the study, attention was focused on the occurrence of inflammatory diseases, trauma and tumours. According to literary sources, Moravian children were particularly afflicted with infectious diseases. These included diphtheria, black cough, sinusitis, bacterial inflammation of the lungs of various origins, dysentery, salmonellosis, icterus and other diseases. The palaeopathological study demonstrates the high incidence of tuberculous meningitis and congenital syphilis. Traumatic changes were recorded on bones in only a few cases. Unlike written data, the osteology study did not detect any malignant tumours in the examined children. The present communication therefore supplements information on the history and epidemiology of children's infectious diseases in Central Europe during the Modern Age. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The presented report describes the skeletal remains of a young man with multiple pathological changes, dated to between 3800-3700 BC. The studied skeletal remains were subjected to classical anthropological analysis. The palaeopathological study was based on detailed macroscopic examination supplemented by histological and radiological examinations. In addition to the disorder of flat cranial bones, dental developmental defects, traces after periodontal and sinus maxillaris inflammation, partially fractured left rib and fracture of the first lumbar vertebra were found on this skeleton. Based on the mentioned examinations, this finding was evaluated as one of the possibly oldest cases of scurvy in Europe. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The presented study is focused on the observation and interpretation of post-traumatic changes in the facial skeleton. In injuries of the facial bones, it is particularly significant during which growth period the fracture occurred. Selected cases came from three differently dated periods to demonstrate some types of asymmetry we encountered in bone remains from archaeological researches -- 1) approximately 12th--13th centuries BC -- Saqqara Egypt, 2) 5th century -- Líbivá Czech Republic and 3) 13th--18th centuries -- Křtiny, Czech Republic. All the above-mentioned cases were most likely a consequence of interpersonal violence. It can be assumed that, in the female, the trauma could have been the result of domestic violence. The trauma in the male could rather have arisen during a skirmish. The use of modern clinical data provides the opportunity to interpret the ancient material with a greater degree of accuracy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]