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A Comparison of Radiological and Palaeopathological Diagnostic Criteria for Hyperostosis Frontalis Interna
Author(s) -
BARBER GERALDINE,
WATT IAIN,
ROGERS JULIET
Publication year - 1997
Publication title -
international journal of osteoarchaeology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.738
H-Index - 60
eISSN - 1099-1212
pISSN - 1047-482X
DOI - 10.1002/(sici)1099-1212(199703)7:2<157::aid-oa331>3.0.co;2-8
Subject(s) - radiological weapon , medicine , skull , paleopathology , hyperostosis , population , demography , osteology , surgery , anatomy , pathology , environmental health , sociology
Hyperostosis frontalis interna (HFI) is a common clinical finding in post‐menopausal women, less often in men. The characteristic billowing symmetrical new bone formation is found on the endocranial surface of the skull and rarely causes any significant symptoms. In clinical medicine HFI is diagnosed from its X‐ray appearance, whereas in palaeopathology it is diagnosed by direct observation of the skull. There are no standard palaeopathological criteria to diagnose HFI. In past populations HFI appears to be much less common than today, with modern prevalences of up to 70 per cent of women over 40 affected, compared with archaeological prevalences of between 1 and 4 per cent. This discrepancy has been attributed to a younger mean age at death in ancient populations. This study aims to test the hypothesis that the difference in prevalence may be due in part to the differential nature of diagnosis between the two disciplines. A sample of 85 skulls was X‐rayed, and the presence of HFI was recorded using radiological criteria. Using this method the results showed a marked increase in the number of cases of HFI to 31 per cent in females in the ancient population. © 1997 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Int. J. Osteoarchaeol. , 7 : 157–164 (1997) No. of Figures: 4. No. of Tables: 3. No. of References: 13.