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Investigation of the link between visceral surface rib lesions and tuberculosis in a Medieval skeletal series from England using ancient DNA
Author(s) -
Mays S.,
Fysh E.,
Taylor G.M.
Publication year - 2002
Publication title -
american journal of physical anthropology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.146
H-Index - 119
eISSN - 1096-8644
pISSN - 0002-9483
DOI - 10.1002/ajpa.10099
Subject(s) - rib cage , tuberculosis , paleopathology , ancient dna , mycobacterium tuberculosis , polymerase chain reaction , biology , mycobacterium tuberculosis complex , nested polymerase chain reaction , anatomy , pathology , medicine , genetics , gene , population , environmental health
Seven human skeletons from a large assemblage from a rural English Medieval burial site show lesions, predominantly proliferative in nature, on the visceral surfaces of the ribs. In order to investigate whether these rib lesions were regularly associated with tuberculous infection, these individuals, together with a group of age‐ and sex‐matched control skeletons without bony signs of infection, were subjected to polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assays aimed at detecting traces of DNA from infecting microorganisms of the Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex. The results provided no evidence for any regular association between visceral surface rib lesions and the presence of M. tuberculosis complex DNA in the study group. The significance of these findings for the paleopathological interpretation of visceral surface rib lesions is discussed. Am J Phys Anthropol 119:27–36, 2002. © 2002 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.