Browsing by Author "Antunes-Ferreira, Nathalie"
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- DISH in an individual from the Portuguese Navy (18th-19th centuries)Publication . Antunes-Ferreira, Nathalie; Marques, Carina; Prates, Carlos; Alves-Cardoso, FranciscaIn 2005 the crypt of Espírito Santo Chapel (Loures, Portugal) was excavated. Forty-nine primary inhumations, comprising 37 adults (27 females; 10 males) and 12 non-adults were identified. Inhumations took place between 1561 and 1834. An adult male (> 35 years old) (Burial 1-Crypt 3) was individualized as belonging to the Portuguese Navy, based on the recovery of an uniform button associated with the burial. This individual exhibited exuberant bone lesions, affecting the vertebral region, sacroiliac joint, and extraspinal entheses. Bone changes were recorded macroscopically and complemented with radiological exam. The bone alterations are compatible with a diagnosis of diffuse idiopathic skeletal hyperostosis (DISH), according to Rogers and Waldron criteria.
- Extracapsular fracture of the femur in an elderly male from Setúbal (Portugal)Publication . Antunes-Ferreira, Nathalie; Prates, Carlos; Curate, FranciscoHip fractures were certainly present in past communities, if not reasonably frequent. Often an outcome of osteoporosis and increased risk of falling among the elderly, these fractures affect predominantly older women but also aged men. In this case-study, an extracapsular fracture of the femur in an elderly man is described and contextualized.
- Extracapsular fracture of the femur in an elderly male from the Church of Nossa Senhora da Anunciada (Setúbal, Portugal)Publication . Antunes-Ferreira, Nathalie; Prates, Carlos; Curate, FranciscoIn modern populations, hip fractures in older people are associated with high morbidity and mortality. Their incidence is rising; notwithstanding, fractures of the proximal femur are still relatively uncommon in archeological contexts. This case study represents a well-healed hip fracture in an aged male skeleton from Church of Nossa Senhora da Anunciada (16th–19th centuries AD) in Setúbal (Portugal). The individual was also diagnosed with diffuse idiopathic skeletal hyperostosis. Fractures of the proximal femur are usually associated with bone loss but in this case other causes are proposed, including the anatomy of the proximal femur, and the potential combined effect of diffuse idiopathic skeletal hyperostosis, cardiovascular disease, diabetes mellitus and falls.
- Interpreting injury recidivism in a rural post-medieval male individual from Bucelas, PortugalPublication . Antunes-Ferreira, Nathalie; Prates, Carlos; Curate, FranciscoInjury recidivism studies assess the lived experience of individuals who endure multiple traumatic incidents, conveying a nuanced contextualization of individual suffering within a reticulate of social and cultural processes. During a recent archaeological excavation, a skeleton of a middle-aged male dating to the 17th–18th centuries AD was excavated in the churchyard of the Chapel of the Holy Spirit in Bucelas (Portugal). This individual exhibited a mixture of healed and healing fractures that prompted poor functional long-term outcomes and an increase in the risk of death. Macroscopic and medical imaging (computerized tomography) analyses revealed lesions in the right shoulder, right and left ribs, fifth right proximal phalanx and right distal femur. Fracture complications include myositis ossificans and chronic osteomyelitis. The results are interpreted in the broader sociocultural circumstances of Bucelas during the early modern period, in order to investigate the causes of this individual's accumulated trauma and the possibility of health-related care associated with it.
- King Ariarathes IV of Cappadocia’s impotence in the light of thyroid disease: a multidisciplinar palaeopathological analysisPublication . Galassi, Francesco M.; Pate, F. Donald; Antunes-Ferreira, Nathalie; Varotto, ElenaFor a long time historical research dismissed the account about King Ariarathes IV of Cappadocia's (reigned 220–163 BC) wife being unable to produce an offspring just as a defamatory explanation concocted by later writers to cover subtler political moves. Having palaeopathologically re-examined the biographical record of King Ariarathes IV in the light of a recently proposed diagnosis of thyroid goiter, by multidisciplinarily combining literary and artistic evidence with biomedical knowledge and rationale, this article proposes an endocrinologically originated sexual dysfunction in King Ariarathes IV and offers a new reading of the subsequent shaming of his spouse.
- Leprosy in individuals unearthed near the Ermida de Santo André and Leprosarium of Beja, PortugalPublication . Antunes-Ferreira, Nathalie; Santos, Ana Luísa; Matos, Vítor M. J."Documentary sources refer to leprosy patients in the Portuguese territory since the first century AD, and in the Middle Ages around 70 leprosaria were established. However, prior to 2003 this historical evidence had not been confirmed by archeological findings. The excavation performed in monitoring the rehabilitation done by the Polis program in the area of the Ermida de Santo André (hermitage of Saint Andrew) allowed the exhumation of seven human skeletons, and commingled bones from at least three individuals, in the vicinity of the Beja leprosarium. The objective of this study is to present the paleopathological lesions relevant to the discussion of the differential diagnosis of leprosy. Macroscopic observation of the bones and scrutiny of lesions according to the paleopathological literature allowed the identification of a probable case of leprosy in an adult male, showing rhinomaxillary changes and concentric remodeling of hand and foot bones, and four possible cases (two young adults and two adults, all probably males), with a set of lesions in facial bones and skeletal extremities. The poor preservation of the bones precluded further confirmation of this diagnosis. According to historical data, the leprosaria functioned between the 14th and 16th centuries AD. The exact chronology of these findings was not determined either during the excavation or by radiocarbon dating because the bones presented poor collagen levels. In Portugal as a whole there are few osteological evidences of leprosy, and thus this study adds new information about this chronic infectious disease."
- Multiple osteochondromas in a 16th–19th century individual from Setúbal (Portugal)Publication . Antunes-Ferreira, Nathalie; Cunha, Eugénia; Marques, CarinaAn archaeological survey at the church of Nossa Senhora da Anunciada (Setúbal, Portugal) uncovered the remains of 92 individuals. Historical and archaeological data suggest that the inhumations occurred between 1531 and 1839. The present work reports the pathological features of a mature male individual exhibiting multiple osseous bony projections and bone deformity, mainly affecting the metaphyseal and adjacent diaphyseal regions of the long bones. The macroscopic and the radiological analyses of the lesions suggest multiple osteochondromas as the most probable diagnosis. This is the first archaeological case of this disease known on the Portuguese territory and in southern Europe.
- Toxocara eggs in an 18th century Franciscan from Portugal. The challenge of differentiating between parasitism and chance in PaleoparasitologyPublication . Sianto, Luciana; Chaves, Sérgio Augusto de Miranda; Antunes-Ferreira, Nathalie; Silva, Ana Raquel M.In 2005, an adult male was excavated in the cloister of the former Convent of the Holy Spirit, in the Franciscan Province of Holy Mary of Arrábida, Lisbon district. From the anterior part of the sacrum, a darker organic agglomeration was collected and studied for intestinal parasites. Samples were rehydrated with Lycopodium tablets in a Na3PO4 5% solution for 72 h, followed by the swirl technique. Organic material was concentrated at 2500 rpm. At least 20 slides of each sample were examined using a light/polarized microscope. A control sample from outside the pelvis revealed no biological remains. A sample collected inside the pelvic girdle was positive for pollen grains, other plant remains and Toxocara eggs, perhaps T. cati (2766 eggs/gram sediment). This finding, although exciting, cannot be explained in a simple way because humans are not definitive hosts for Toxocara species. Ingestion of feces-contaminated food or water, geophagy, or true infection are hypotheses considered in this study, which demonstrates the difficulty of interpreting the presence of animal parasites in human remains. This is the first time Toxocara eggs are found associated with human remains.