Osteoma of the zygomatic bone from 16th century Sardinia (Italy) in the framework of a paleoepidemiological study

Objective

The aim of this paper is to evaluate a case of osteoma of the zygomatic bone in a post-medieval individual in the context of a paleoepidemiological approach.

Materials

Forty-five skulls from the plague cemetery of Alghero (Sardinia, Italy), dating back to the end of the 16th century, were evaluated for the presence of osteomata on the outer surface of the cranial vault and facial bones.

Methods

Macroscopic examination was performed using standard anthropological methods. The bone presenting the lesion was submitted to radiological examination through cone beam; a 3D reconstruction was obtained with a surface 3D scanner.

Results

Only one case of osteoma was observed in an adolescent aged 13–15 years, located on the right zygomatic bone. The lesion consisted of a rounded mass of 0.5 cm in diameter composed of compact bone, as also the radiographic study demonstrates. The prevalence of osteoma on the outer surface of the cranial vault and facial bones in the population of Alghero was 2.2 %.

Conclusions

This case offers the opportunity to enrich the knowledge about the presence of benign tumors among past populations and to evaluate this lesion in dry bone.

Significance

This study provides paleoepidemiological data on the scarce area of benign tumors in paleo-oncology and presents the first documented osteoma of the zygomatic bone in paleopathology.

Limitation

Histological study was not performed for conservative issues.

Suggestions for future research

Increasing the attention to benign tumors is essential to deepen our knowledge about paleoepidemiology of neoplastic lesions.