Tianyi Wang , Jenna M. Dittmar , Sarah A. Inskip , Craig Cessford , Piers D. Mitchell
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引用次数: 0
Abstract
Objective
Cribra orbitalia is believed to be a skeletal indicator of chronic anaemia, scurvy, rickets or related metabolic diseases. It has been suggested that it may be used as a proxy indicator for intestinal parasite infection, as parasites often cause anaemia today. Our aim is to investigate this association in the medieval population of Cambridge, UK.
Materials
Individuals excavated from the cemeteries of the Augustinian friary and All Saints by the Castle parish church, and aged from 7 to adulthood.
Methods
We undertook parasite analysis of the pelvic sediment and control samples of 46 burials with intact orbital roofs.
Results
Human roundworm (Ascaris lumbricoides) and/or whipworm (Trichuris trichiura) were identified in the pelvic sediment of 22 individuals, and cribra orbitalia noted in 11 individuals. Barnards test showed no association between parasite infection and cribra orbitalia (p = .882).
Conclusion
We found no association between infection and cribra orbitalia infection in this medieval adult population, calling into question this hypothesis, at least for adults.
Significance
High or low cribra orbitalia prevalence in adults should not be used to infer rates of intestinal parasite infection.
Limitations
The individuals in the study were over the age of 7, with no younger children. It is possible that only parasites which cause marked anaemia (such as hookworm, schistosomiasis or malaria) may cause cribra orbitalia, while less marked anaemia from roundworm and whipworm may not do so.
Suggestions for Further Research
Repeating this study in younger children, when most cribra orbitalia appears to form.
期刊介绍：
Paleopathology is the study and application of methods and techniques for investigating diseases and related conditions from skeletal and soft tissue remains. The International Journal of Paleopathology (IJPP) will publish original and significant articles on human and animal (including hominids) disease, based upon the study of physical remains, including osseous, dental, and preserved soft tissues at a range of methodological levels, from direct observation to molecular, chemical, histological and radiographic analysis. Discussion of ways in which these methods can be applied to the reconstruction of health, disease and life histories in the past is central to the discipline, so the journal would also encourage papers covering interpretive and theoretical issues, and those that place the study of disease at the centre of a bioarchaeological or biocultural approach. Papers dealing with historical evidence relating to disease in the past (rather than history of medicine) will also be published. The journal will also accept significant studies that applied previously developed techniques to new materials, setting the research in the context of current debates on past human and animal health.
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