This paper considers the discipline of palaeopathology, how it has developed, how it is studied, and what limitations present challenges to analysis. The study of disease has a long history and has probably most rapidly developed over the last 40-50 years with the development of methods, and particularly ancient pathogen DNA analysis. While emphasizing that palaeopathology has close synergies to evolutionary medicine, it focuses then on three ‘case studies’ that illustrate the close interaction people have had with their environments and how that has impacted their health. Upper and lower respiratory tract disease has affected sinuses and ribs, particularly in urban contexts, and tuberculosis in particular has been an ever present disease throughout thousands of years of our existence. Ancient DNA methods are now allowing us to explore how strains of the bacteria causing TB have changed through time. Vitamin D deficiency and ‘phossy jaw’ are also described, both potentially related to polluted environments, and possibly to working conditions in the industrial period. Access to UV light is emphasized as a preventative factor for rickets and where a person lives is important (latitude). The painful stigmatizing ‘phossy jaw’ appears to be a condition related to the match making industries. Finally, thoughts for the future are outlined, and two key concerns: a close consideration of ethical issues and human remains, especially with destructive analyses, and thinking more about how palaeopathological research can impact people beyond academia.
In the early 1900s, European citizens, especially from the working class, suffered from diseases caused by nutrient deficiencies. In addition to tuberculosis, which was spreading in poor city quarters, so called skrofula (a lymphadenitis of the cervical lymph nodes associated with tuberculosis) and rickets were also spread. Houses for weakened and malnourished residents were built on the Baltic coast for preventive or rehabilitation purposes. That is why these spas were called "Seehospiz" or "Heilstätte" in German. The article presents the most important objects that existed about 100-125 years ago in the territory of the present West Pomeranian Voivodeship.
PL
Na początku XX wieku obywatele europejscy, zwłaszcza ci z klasy robotniczej, cierpieli choroby spowodowane niedoborami substancji odżywczych. Oprócz gruźlicy, która szerzyła się w biednych dzielnicach miast, rozpowszechniły się także skrofuloza (tak zwana gruźlica węzłów chłonnych) i krzywica. W celach profilaktycznych lub rehabilitacyjnych wzdłuż wybrzeża Bałtyku na Pomorzu Zachodnim budowano domy dla osłabionych i niedożywionych mieszkańców. Dlatego też sanatoria te nazywano w języku niemieckim "Seehospiz" lub "Heilstätte". Poniżej przedstawiamy najważniejsze obiekty, które istniały około 100-125 lat temu na terenie obecnego województwa zachodniopomorskiego.
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