A rare case of forearm hypoplasia from 18th‐century Gdańsk, Poland

The case of forearm hypoplasia with anterior displacement of the radius (transverse forearm deficiency, TFD) presented in this article was noted in skeleton no. 72 recovered from one of the crypts of St John's Church in Gdan´sk. The remains are those of a woman who died in the latter half of the 18th century. Hypoplasia affects the right forearm, whilst the other bones of this extremity are atrophied to varying degrees. Similar traits are apparent on the surviving ribs and the sternal manubrium. The very poorly preserved spinal column shows scoliosis and a fused block of three vertebrae (Th3–5). As pointed out by Mann et al . (1992), materials recovered from the excavation provide historical confirmation of the existence of a link between congenital abnormalities affecting the upper extremities and idiopathic scoliosis. They also offer an opportunity to compare these deformities with those brought about by mothers taking thalidomide. A brief outline of the history of palaeoteratology is presented, drawing attention to the small number of cases described in the literature. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.