Multiple abnormalities in the skull of a prostitute. An autopsy report (1900)

OBJECTIVE: The study presents and comments on the publication of an autopsy report. CASE REPORT: In 1900 De Blasio published an article entitled "Multiple abnormalities in a prostitute's skull" in the "Journal of Psychiatry, Criminal Anthropology and related sciences". In this work De Blasio related anomalies at the cranial level to the presence of mental pathologies. The skull belonged to a 24-year-old prostitute who died of syphilitic hepatitis. In his article, De Blasio described the life of the woman, after which he gave a macroscopic description of the skull. De Blasio believed that the subject's amoral behavior was caused by the anomalous shape of the subject's skull. CONCLUSION: From the study, it is evident that the school of criminal anthropology influenced De Blasio's autopsy medical practice, and it is interesting to note the interpretation of anthropologists of the time who tried to describe the link between physical and behavioral anomalies

Radiology of Mummies

In the past, autoptic examinations were usually performed for research. This type of examination, for obvious reasons, did not appeal to paleopathologists as these procedures potentially damaged the finds destined to musealization. Since the discovery of X-ray, radiology has been used to study mummies as a noninvasive technique. The radiology of mummies allows us to discover pathologies, to elaborate on the type of ritual mummification for the artificial embalming, to comprehend the diagenetic process that guaranteed a natural mummification, or to conclude anthropological identification. We present a review on the latest studies on mummies that have shown that the radiological approach has been essential to conduct research

Defects-related early childhood caries as hints of possible maternal–fetal health issues: Evidence from medieval northern Italy

Developmental defects of enamel (DDE) are important markers of stress as they arise from the disruption of ameloblastic activity during enamel matrix secretion and mineralization. Defects on the crowns of the deciduous dentition provide insights into maternal–fetal health because they can emerge during intrauterine development as a result of gestational issues. The presence of previous defective enamel represents one of the most predisposing causes of caries development. Thus, circular caries on the deciduous dentition are considered an indicator of stress because of their ascertained relation with dental enamel defects. In bioarchaeological analysis, these lesions allow us to deepen the question of maternal–fetal health issues in the ancient period. Here, we present evidence of defects-related early childhood caries in three infants from a medieval cemetery in northern Italy. The findings in the dentitions of the three subjects were investigated with a multi-analytical approach, including macroscopic examination, microscopic observation, cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and histological sections. In the specimens analyzed, the lesions observed in the dentitions appeared to have arisen during the fetal period and then protracted in the postnatal life, suggesting the implication of in utero environment and maternal health in the etiology of defects

Action of Ganoderma lucidum mycelial growth filtrates on Erysiphe dffusa and embryotoxicity assessment in a chicken embryo model

This work aimed to evaluate the antimicrobial effect of Ganoderma lucidum mycelial growth filtrates (MGF) on the phytopathogen Erysiphe diffusa and their potential effects on the embryonic development of Gallus gallus. The antimicrobial activity was evaluated on E. diffusa spores by the microdilution broth method. To evaluate embryotoxic and teratogenic effects, fertile eggs of G. gallus received injections of solutions containing the filtrates of G. lucidum through the air chamber. After three days of incubation, we opened the eggs and evaluated egg viability, embryo survival, malformation occurrence, embryonic staging and heart rate. Live embryos were prepared using whole mount technique and the morphological analysis was performed. We used the generalized linear model to fit embryotoxicity and teratogenicity data. We verified that G. lucidum MGF showed inhibitory activity in vitro against E. diffusa and the minimum inhibitory concentrations ranged from 5 to 10 mg/mL. We could also observe that the filtrates did not present embryotoxic or teratogenic effects on the early embryonic development of G. gallus, but induced significant differences in the embryonic mean heart rate and on the stage of embryonic development