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Possible case of partial postmortem fetal extrusion: Preliminary observations on the mummified remains of a turn‐of‐the‐19th‐century noblewoman in Finland
Author(s) -
Väre Tiina,
Lipkin Sanna,
KallioSeppä Titta,
Tranberg Annemari,
Junno JuhoAntti
Publication year - 2021
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/oa.3023
Subject(s) - fetus , pregnancy , medicine , obstetrics , biology , genetics
We report a plausible case of partial postmortem fetal extrusion dating to the turn of the 19th century. A fetal skull protruded from the obstetric canal of the partially mummified remains of an adult woman buried in a private burial chapel in Vihti, South Finland. The fetal size implies the mother having died during the early third trimester of her pregnancy. The cause of death was not obvious from the limited external examination of her remains, but the underdeveloped state of the fetal remains renders it unlikely that this case represents a maternal death resulting from dystocia. Rather, the finding should be interpreted as a case of partial postmortem fetal extrusion, a process probably interrupted by decelerated decomposition of the maternal remains before full expulsion of the fetus.