Valorizzazione del patrimonio scheletrico umano: una prospettiva su milano

The history and cultural heritage of a city can be evaluated not only through the study of the works of art, artifacts or buildings, but also through the examination of the remains of persons who walked the city in the past millennia. Therefore several thousands of skeletal remains found in Lombardia, especially in Milano, act as cultural assets, though in an the ethical scenario of full respect of human remains. In this way the skeletons tell a history concerning the conditions of health, the richness, culture and even violence, which may confirm, integrate or deny the historical sources when available. Preliminary studies performed on skeletons from different areas of Lombardia have already demonstrated the potential of skeletal material in highlighting for example the evolution of infectious diseases from the Roman age to the Middle Ages, the multiethnicity of Milan at the time of St Ambrose, the heavy labor of children which seems to be present among the Longobards who inhabited the geographic areas of Bergamo as well as Manzoni’s plague affecting the remains found under the Spanish walls. How were they different from us for what concerns life expectancy, diseases, interpersonal violence and lifestyle? In this the skeleton comes through as a true cultural asset.La storia e il patrimonio culturale di una città si misurano non soltanto attraverso lo studio delle opere d’arte, dei manufatti o dell’edilizia, ma anche attraverso l’esame dei resti delle persone che hanno calpestato il suolo nei millenni passati. Ecco quindi che le decine di migliaia di resti scheletrici rinvenuti in Lombardia nelle numerose necropoli portate alla luce fungono anch’esse da “bene culturale”, seppur in una cornice etica e morale del rispetto e del trattamento dignitoso dei resti umani. Gli scheletri in questo modo raccontano una storia sullo stato di salute, la ricchezza, la cultura e persino la violenza, che può confermare, integrare o a volta smentire le fonti storiche quando queste sono disponibili. Studi preliminari effettuati su scheletri di diverse aree della Lombardia, e in particolare Milano, hanno già dimostrato il potenziale del materiale scheletrico nel far intuire ad esempio un’evoluzione delle malattie infettive dall’epoca romana al medioevo, la multietnicità della Milano di Sant’Ambrogio, il pesante lavoro minorile che pare fosse diffuso già tra i longobardi che popolavano la Bergamasca e la peste del Manzoni che affliggeva i resti trovati sotto le mura spagnole di chi già soffriva di malnutrizione. Come si differenziavano da noi e tra di loro nell’aspettativa di vita, nella malattia, nella violenza interpersonale, nello stile di vita? In questo lo scheletro è un vero e proprio bene culturale

Recognition of children on age-different images: Facial morphology and age-stable features

The situation of missing children is one of the most emotional social issues worldwide. The search for and identification of missing children is often hampered, among others, by the fact that the facial morphology of long-term missing children changes as they grow. Nowadays, the wide coverage by surveillance systems potentially provides image material for comparisons with images of missing children that may facilitate identification. The aim of study was to identify whether facial features are stable in time and can be utilized for facial recognition by comparing facial images of children at different ages as well as to test the possible use of moles in recognition. The study was divided into two phases (1) morphological classification of facial features using an Anthropological Atlas; (2) algorithm developed in MATLAB® R2014b for assessing the use of moles as age-stable features. The assessment of facial features by Anthropological Atlases showed high mismatch percentages among observers. On average, the mismatch percentages were lower for features describing shape than for those describing size. The nose tip cleft and the chin dimple showed the best agreement between observers regarding both categorization and stability over time. Using the position of moles as a reference point for recognition of the same person on age-different images seems to be a useful method in terms of objectivity and it can be concluded that moles represent age-stable facial features that may be considered for preliminary recognition

Sella turcica dimensions between 7 and 13 years: a novel radiographic method for age estimation

Age estimation of the living is becoming a relevant field of application of foren- sic anthropology, where the development of novel methods is urging (1). Several articles highlight the relation with age of different metrical parameters of the sella turcica (2,3), although no study so far has produced regression formulae which may be applicable to the forensic context. The aim of this study was to evaluate the metrical standards of three different measurements of sella turcica (length, depth, diameter) in 177 lateral cephalometric radiograms belonging to male and female individuals aged between 7 and 13 years in order to find standards useful for age estimation. Results were evaluated by two-way ANOVA. Sella diameter was significantly larger in older children (p<0.01), while sella depth was larger in males than in females (p<0.01); there was no significant gender x age interaction in any variable. Principal component analysis (PCA) was conducted to highlight the sources of variability in data. The first principal component accounted for 76% of the overall variance and it was closely correlated with length and diameter (r=0.93 and r=0.92, respectively, p<0.01). The linear regression model fitted on age and diameter measures yielded the following equation: age (years)=3.81*diameter (cm)+6.12. Slope and intercept 95% CI were respectively 4.64 to 7.61 years/cm and 2.34 to 5.28 years. The related coefficient of determination was R2=0.123, while the root mean square error was 1.74 years. The present results provide a novel method useful for age estimation in the living minors: further studies are needed in order to test its applicability to the forensic scenario

Variations of midfacial soft-tissue thickness between 6 and 18 years for the reconstruction of the profile: a help for facial reconstruction of children

Facial approximation techniques used in forensic anthropology are based on soft-tissue thickness databases. A potentially relevant application concerns the facial reconstruction of children in cases where only the skull can be recovered. Although several databases concerning facial soft tissues thicknesses already exist [1-3], no study has so far taken into consideration the Italian population. This study aims at providing data concerning facial thickness on the midline in a population of Italian children. Diagnostic cephalometric X-ray films were obtained from 222 healthy Caucasoid children (91 boys and 131 girls), aged between 6 and 18 years. After setting the Frankfurt plane horizontal, 15 measurements were taken at the mid-facial landmarks: supraglabella, glabella, nasion, nasale, subnasale, nasal tip, superior labial sulcus, labrale superius, stomion, labrale inferius, inferior labial sulcus, suprapogonion, pogonion, gnathion, menton. Mean and standard deviation of soft-tissues thickness at each point were calculated. A two-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) was performed to test the modifications of facial parameters with age and sex (

How frequent is ponticulus posticus in italian people? A lateral cephalometric study in an orthodontic population

The term “ponticulus posticus” refers to a partial or complete bony arch over the vertebral artery as it crosses the superolateral surface of the posterior arch of the atlas. This anatomical modification is linked to different symptoms, ranging from neckache to headache and migraine (1). This bony arch may also be incorrectly assessed during orthopedic surgery for fixation of C1-C2, with consequent risk of damaging the vertebral artery (2). Its frequency in the general population has been widely analysed by literature in different geographic contexts (3), but an analysis of the prevalence of such feature in the Italian population is still missing. The present investigation aims at providing data concerning the prevalence of ponticulus posticus in a sample of 221 patients. All the patients underwent lateral cephalometry for odontoiatric purposes and none of them was affected by congenital diseases or skeletal deformities. In the analysed sample ponticulus posticus had a prevalence of 7.7% for the complete form, and 9.0% for the incomplete form. Complete and partial forms were observed respectively in 8.8% and 11.0% of males, and in 6.9% and 7.7% of females, without statistically significant differences (chi-square test, p>0.01). Italian prevalence seems lower than that observed in American populations, and higher than that reported in India and Far East countries. The current investigation provided the first data concerning the frequency of posticulus posticus in Italy: further studies are needed in order to widen the sample and improve the analysis by more advanced radiological examinations such as CT and cone beam CT scans

Decomposition and entomological colonization of charred bodies – a pilot study

Aim To use forensic entomological approach to estimate the post mortem interval (PMI) in burnt remains. Methods Two experiments were performed in a field in the outskirts of Milan, in winter and summer 2007. Four 60- kg pigs were used: two for each experiment. One pig carcass was burnt until it reached the level 2-3 of the Glassman- Crow scale and the not-burnt carcass was used as a control. In order to describe the decomposition process and to collect the data useful for minimum PMI estimation, macroscopic, histological, and entomological analyses were performed. Results In the winter part of the experiment, the first insect activity on the burnt carcass began in the third week (Calliphora vomitoria) and at the beginning of the fourth week an increase in the number of species was observed. In the summer part, adult flies and first instar maggots (Phormia regina) appeared a few minutes/hours after the carcass exposure. Both in winter and summer, flies belonging to the first colonization wave (Calliphoridae) appeared on burnt and control pigs at the same time, whereas other species (Diptera and Coleoptera) appeared earlier on burnt pigs. Conclusion In forensic practice, burnt bodies are among the most neglected fields of entomological research, since they are supposed to be an inadequate substratum for insect colonization. Entomological approach for PMI estimation proved to be useful

Correlation Analysis on Anatomical Variants of Accessory Foramina in the Sphenoid Bone for Oncological Surgery

The sphenoid bone presents several anatomical variations, including accessory foramina, such as the foramen meningo-orbitale, the foramen of Vesalius, the canaliculus innominatus and the palatovaginal canal, which may be involved in tumor invasion or surgery of surrounding structures. Therefore, clinicians and surgeons have to consider these variants when planning surgical interventions of the cranial base. The prevalence of each variant is reported in the published literature, but very little information is available on the possible correlation among different variants. Here, 300 CT scans of patients (equally divided among males and females) were retrospectively assessed to investigate the presence of the foramen meningo-orbitale, the foramen of Vesalius, the canaliculus innominatus and the palatovaginal canal. Possible differences in the prevalence of each accessory foramen according to sex were assessed, as well as possible correlations among different variants through the Chi-square test (p p > 0.01). A significant positive correlation was found between the foramen of Vesalius and canaliculus innominatus, both in males and in females (p < 0.01). In detail, subjects with canaliculus innominatus in 85.7–100.0% of cases also showed the foramen of Vesalius, independently from sex and side. The present study provided novel data about the prevalence of four accessory foramina of the sphenoid bone in an Italian population, and a correlation between the foramen of Vesalius and the canaliculus innominatus was found for the first time. As these accessory foramina host neurovascular structures, the results of this study are thus useful for appropriate planning surgical procedures that are tailored to the anatomical configuration of the patient and for improving techniques to avoid accidental injuries in cranial base surgery. Knowledge of the topography, frequencies and the presence/absence of these additional foramina are pivotal for a successful procedure. Clinicians and surgeons may benefit from these novel data for appropriate recognition of the variants, decision-making, pre-operative and treatment planning, improvement of the procedures, screening of patients and prevention of misdiagnosis

Bone microscopy: guiding knowledge from history to forensic medicine

Calcified tissues are well known microscopically, but the diagnostic potential of bone micro-anatomy is still underestimated. The shape and size of osteons or of lamellar bone are unique and fundamental for determining the species of origin of human remains, and for understanding age, disease, and trauma; thus micro-anatomy is crucial to many disciplines, from archaeology to forensic medicine. This presentation aims at illustrating and reviewing all such applications. The first question arising when studying skeletal remains is: “is it human?”. Macroscopic analysis alone can sometimes be insufficient in understanding if they belong to a human or to another animal; in such cases, the microscopic characteristics can be the only instrument capable of providing a reply, by evaluating the presence of osteons, their pattern and distribution, as well as the their metrical parameters [1]. Secondly, bone tissue formation as well as the constant bone remodeling process result in a strong correlation between the age of an individual and both the tissue pattern and the number of osteons per unit area in a bone cross-section, parameters on which most of the histological age-estimating methods are based. These methods are particularly important in distinguishing subadults from adults, and, among the latter, in estimating age where other methods result unsatisfactory [2]. Bone histology can also be diagnostic in the research for pathological diseases and traumatic events, especially with concern to the moment in which a trauma occurred [2]. Finally, the type and degree of microscopic damage can give some insight into the environmental surroundings in which the bone was, and a taphonomic profile useful for the verification of taphonomic events and clues on the post mortem interval of the sample [3]. All these contributions demonstrate that even just a small piece of bone, in fact a microscopic part of it, is fundamental and can sometimes be the only instrument for the correct interpretation of the story that human remains can tell

Gli scheletri della fossa comune di viale Sabotino a Milano: le vittime della peste manzoniana?

Demographic and paleopathological studies are an important resource for the analysis of earlier populations, and can furnish useful information for the reconstruction of epidemic events, where emergencies make it impossible to have good information about the more general health of the population. The current study concerns the find of a mass grave in Milan, near the ‘Spanish’ wallls of the seventeenth century, the period during which the plague of 1630 exploded in the city. On the basis of the hypothesis that the individuals found were victims of this epidemic anthropological and paleopatholical analyses were carried out on the skeletal remains. Anthropological analyses have revealed a minimal number of 240 individuals. The population was heterogeneous in sex and age with a high mortality in peripartum, adolescential and people between 36 and 65 years old, as in the demographic structure of ancient society. The paleopathological investigations have shown nutritional deficits, chronic anemia, debilitating congenital diseases, dental pathologies indicative of a low level of oral hygene, arthritis and lesions even in the case of adolescents. A highly important find is the presence of syphilis and tuburculosis, infective diseases with social re-percussions. Anthropological and paleopathological investi-gations have thus given us precious information on the health of the population of Milan during the critical period of the epidemi