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Healed fractures of the long bones in 15th to18th century city dwellers
Author(s) -
Prokopec Miroslav,
Halman Ladislav
Publication year - 1999
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(199909/10)9:5<349::aid-oa507>3.0.co;2-h
Subject(s) - tibia , ankle , femur , humerus , medicine , population , anatomy , surgery , environmental health
Healed fractures of the long bones from Prague and from the town of Mělník from the 15th to the 18th centuries are presented in this paper. One of them relates to the humerus; two to the collum of the femur which healed and apparently enabled a normal function of the hip joint; three to the shaft of the femur; one to the lower third of the tibia, and three to the lower leg region above the ankle. The healed, unreduced fractures of the shafts of the leg bones show shortening of their lengths, perhaps some torsion or angulation and limited movement, but the main function—walking—had been, on the whole, maintained. Each case has been x‐rayed and diagnosed. The described specimens are part of the Matiegka collection of pathology from the Hrdlička Museum of Man, Charles University, Prague. Similar fractures were collected by Aleš Hrdlička in a population of different ethnic origin living in a different epoch and on another continent. These were ancient Peruvians, which suggests that fractures happen at certain sections of tibias and femurs regardless of place on the Earth and cultural affinity. The level of treatment of the fractures was similar in both populations. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.