Osteochondritis Dissecans of skeletal elements of the foot in a 19th century rural farming community from The Netherlands

A distant city: Assessing the impact of Dutch socioeconomic developments on urban and rural health using respiratory disease as a proxy

OBJECTIVES

To investigate the prevalence of respiratory disease in several populations from the Netherlands across different time periods and socioeconomic conditions.

MATERIALS

We analyzed 695 adult individuals from six different Dutch contexts of urban and rural settlements dating to different time periods (i.e., early-medieval, late-medieval, post-medieval).

METHODS

For each individual, the presence/absence of chronic maxillary sinusitis, otitis media, and inflammatory periosteal reaction on ribs was recorded macroscopically according to accepted methods.

RESULTS

Statistically significant associations were found in the presence of sinusitis diachronically (early-medieval to late-medieval period, and early-medieval to post-medieval period) both in rural and urban environments. Differences in prevalence rates of otitis media were found statistically significant when comparing rural to urban environments in the early-medieval and late-medieval periods.

CONCLUSION

Our results suggest that factors such as increased contact between towns and countryside, higher population densities, and intensification of agricultural production impacted the respiratory health of past populations both in rural and urban settings.

SIGNIFICANCE

Our study provides new insights into the impact of environmental changes and urbanization on respiratory disease prevalence, shedding light on the relationship between health and changing social and environmental contexts.

LIMITATIONS

Research limitations included the complex etiology of respiratory diseases, and the impact of uncontrollable factors such as hidden heterogeneity, selective mortality, and rural-to-urban migration.

FUTURE RESEARCH

Further research in different contexts is advised in order to continue exploring urbanization and its impact on human health across both time and space.

Osteochondrosis dissecans in glenoid cavity of Korean War casualty's scapula

Since the first description of this disease in 1887, there are rare reports on osteochondrosis dissecans (OCD) found in the glenoid cavity by way of anthropological studies. During an excavation project for recovery of the remains of Korean War casualties, a skeletonized soldier was found inside a cave fort at the Arrowhead Ridge of the demilitarized zone (DMZ), South Korea. In our recovery and examination of a Korean War casualty in DMZ, we identified a possible OCD in the individual’s glenoid cavity of a right-sided scapula by radiological analysis and computed tomography reconstruction. This is a rare case of scapular OCD discovered in an archaeologically investigated skeleton.

Quantifying cortical bone in fragmentary archeological second metacarpals

OBJECTIVES

Skeletal variation in cortical bone thickness is an indicator of bone quality and health in archeological populations. Second metacarpal radiogrammetry, which measures cortical thickness at the shaft midpoint, is traditionally used to evaluate bone loss in bioarcheological and some clinical contexts. However fragmentary elements are regularly omitted because the midpoint cannot be determined. This methodological limitation reduces sample sizes and biases them against individuals prone to fracture, such as older individuals with low bone mass. This study introduces a new technique for measuring cortical bone in second metacarpals, the "Region of Interest" (ROI) method, which quantifies bone in archeological remains with less-than-ideal preservation while accounting for cortical heterogeneity.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

The ROI method was adapted from digital X-ray radiogrammetry (DXR), a clinical method used to estimate bone mineral density, and tested using second metacarpals from Middenbeemster, Netherlands, a 19th century known age and sex skeletal collection. The ROI method quantifies cortical bone area within a 1.9 cm-long, mid-diaphyseal region, standardized for body size differences using total area (CAI_ROI ). CAI_ROI values were compared to traditional radiogrammetric cortical indices (CI) to assess the method's ability to identify age-related bone loss.

RESULTS

CAI_ROI values have high intra- and interobserver replicability and are strongly and significantly correlated with CI values for both males (r[n = 39] = 0.906, p = 0.000) and females (r[n = 58] = 0.925, p = 0.000).

CONCLUSION

The ROI method complements traditional radiogrammetry analyses and provides a reliable way to quantify cortical bone in incomplete second metacarpals, thereby maximizing sample sizes, allowing patterns in bone acquisition and loss to be more comprehensively depicted in archeological assemblages.