Congenital syphilis in the skeleton of a child from Poland (Radom, 18th–19th century AD)

• Authors: Jacek Tomczyk , Hanna Mańkowska-Pliszka , Piotr Palczewski , Dorota Olczak-Kowalczyk
• Languages of publication: EN

Abstracts

EN

An incomplete skeleton of a 3-year-old child with suspected congenital syphilis was found in the Radom area of Poland. Squama frontalis and zygomatic bones are characterized by significant bone loss. Radiographic pictures show a geographic destructive lesion of a serpiginous shape surrounded by a zone of reactive osteosclerosis in the squama frontalis. The radiographic findings included a slight widening and contour irregularities of the distal humeral metaphyses. The appearance of teeth did not suggest Hutchinson teeth, but the examination of the permanent molars showed signs of mulberry molars. Two teeth were tested for the presence of mercury. Chemical analysis did not indicate mercury accumulation (enamel: 0.07 μg/g, dentine: 0.14 μg/g, bone: 0.11 μg/g). Mercury values obtained for the examined samples were similar to those that are typical of healthy teeth in today’s individuals.

Keywords

EN

paleopathology; congenital syphilis; Poland

• Publisher: Sciendo
• Journal: Anthropological Review
• Year: 2015
• Volume: 78
• Issue: 1
• Pages: 79-90

Dates

published

2015-03-01

received

2014-12-12

accepted

2015-03-13

online

2015-04-10

Contributors

author

Jacek Tomczyk

• Department of Biological Anthropology, Cardinal Stefan Wyszynski University, Warsaw, Poland

author

Hanna Mańkowska-Pliszka

• Department of Descriptive and Clinical Anatomy, Medical University of Warsaw, Poland

author

Piotr Palczewski

• 1st Department of Clinical Radiology, Medical University of Warsaw, Poland

author

Dorota Olczak-Kowalczyk

• Department of Pediatric Dentistry, Medical University of Warsaw, Poland

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Identifiers

DOI

10.1515/anre-2015-0006