Szegedi Tudományegyetem Móra Ferenc Szakkollégiuma
Abstract
Before the 20th century, developmental anomalies were usually met only as peculiarities of cultural history. Later, more and more developmental anomalies were described and statistically characterized, but mostly in contemporary populations. This field of bioarcheological research has only started gaining more attention in the last decades. The aim of this current paper is to describe main groups of developmental diseases using examples from osteological series recovered in Hungary. Among the most commonly occurring anomalies some rare conditions will also be explained through cases of significant interest for paleopathology or medical history. We will describe some developmental anomalies of the skull such as condyles and conoid hypo- and hyperplasia, Stafne’s defects, suture closure anomalies, supernumerary bones or absence of bones, and the anomalies of the cranial base. A few postcranial developmental anomalies will also be presented. General descriptions and case studies will be completed with statistical data, criteria of differential diagnosis, and/or introduction of accompanying anomalies
