Studies in Paleopathology 



37') 



cave bears of Europe 20 were well known, 

 and his characterization of the arthritic 

 lesions of the fossorial animals as the 

 "Hohlengicht," was certainly famous at the 

 time Metchnikoff wrote. The studies of 

 Mayer 21 on the lesions of the cave bears 

 and cave lions of Europe as well as the 

 writings of Cuvier (1820), Esper (1774), 

 ( oldfuss (1810), Walther (182,), Schmerl- 

 ing (1835), Owen (1842), Schaafhausen 

 (1858), Newton and Parker (1870), Graff 

 (1885) and Leidy (1886) may, any or all 

 of them, have been known to Metchni- 

 kofl. They all suggest the pathology of 

 ancient times and some deal entirely 

 w ith the pathological anatomy of fossil re- 

 mains. None, however, are studies which 

 deal with remains older than the middle 

 Tertiary, and to a paleontologist the term 

 4 remote epoch" hardly applies, when com- 

 pared to lesions known from the Carboni- 

 ferous, for example. I am, therefore, forced 

 to conclude that Metchnikoff simply fore- 

 casted what would be discovered, on the 

 basis of what he knew in modern plants and 

 animals. All of the literature in paleontology 

 dealing with pathological evidences of any 

 great antiquity, prior to the mid-Tertiary, 

 has appeared since 1900. The literature is 

 meager and unsatisfactory. Paleontological 

 studies seldom deal specifically with dis- 

 eased conditions, so that the field is still 

 to be explored. The studies in paleontology 

 dealing with pathological evidences among 

 fossil vertebrates have been reviewed by 



20 Rudolf Virehow: "Ueber einen Besuch der 

 west-fall ischen Knochenhohle," Ztschr. f. Ethnol. 

 i8~o, Bd. 2, p. 365, footnote; "Knochen vom 

 Hohlenbaren mit krankhaften Veranderungen," 

 Ibid., 1895, Bd. 27, pp. 706-708, figs. 1-4; "Beitrag 

 zur Geschichte der Lues," Dermat. Ztschr., 1896, 

 Bd. 3, p. 4. 



21 Mayer: "Ueber krankhafte Knochen vorwelt- 

 licher Thiere. In "Nova Acta Leopoldina (Novorum 

 Actorum Academia Caesareae Leopoldino-Caro- 

 linse Naturae Curiosum)", Bd. xxiv, pt. II, pp. 

 673-689, pi. 30. 



2 - O. Abel: "Grundzuge der Paleobiologie der 



Abel, 22 and a much fuller review is planned 

 for a memoir on paleopathology, now in 

 preparation. 



APPARENT ABSENCE OF DISEASE AMONG 

 EARLY PALEOZOIC ANIMALS 



A careful study of the literature of pale- 

 ontology shows that, so far as present ob- 

 servations are concerned, the animals of 

 the earlier periods of the earth's history 

 were free from disease. Although bacteria 23 

 are known to have occurred in the algal 

 deposits of the Newland limestone, a for- 

 mation of the Beltian series of Algonkian 

 rocks in central Montana, they are not 

 known to have been of a pathogenic nature, 

 but rather are supposed to have been active 

 in the deposition of limestones, together 

 with the algae with which they were as- 

 sociated. No lesions due to accident or to 

 infection have been described among either 

 the vertebrates or invertebrates of the early 

 geological periods, prior to the Carbonifer- 

 ous. This lack of knowledge concerning the 

 evidence of disease may be due to ignorance 

 on our part, for the lesions may have been 

 seen but were not deemed worthy of de- 

 scription. Or, it may be due to the fact 

 that the invertebrates of the Proterozoic 

 and Paleozoic, which were the predominant 

 types of animal life during these periods, 

 were free from disease which affected the 

 skeleton, as are, in general, the inverte- 

 brates of today, although many of the 



Wirbel thiere," 191 2; "Spuren von Kampfen," pp. 

 88-91; "Knochenerkrunkungen," pp. 91-95. 



23 These bacteria are described and figured by 

 C D. Walcott and H. F. Osborn. 



C. D. Walcott: "Discovery of Algonkian Bac- 

 teria," Proc. Nat. Acad. Sc, April 1915, p. 256; 

 "Evidences of Primitive Life," Smithsonian Rep. for 

 igi), pp. 235-255, illustrated. 



H. F. Osborn: "Origin and Evolution of Life," 

 1917, p. 153; Science, N. S., 1917, vol. 46, No. 

 1 192, pp. 432-434- 



Their discovery was forecasted by Walcott in 

 his "Pre-Cambrian Algal Flora," Smithsonian Misc. 

 Collect, 19 1 4, vol. 64, No. 2, p. 95. 



