STUDIES IN PALEOPATHOLOGY 



I. GENERAL CONSIDERATION OF THE EVIDENCES OF 

 PATHOLOGICAL CONDITIONS FOUND AMONG FOSSIL ANIMALS 



By ROY L. MOODIE, Ph.D. 



Department of Anatomy, College of Medicine, University of Illinois 

 CHICAGO, ILLINOIS 



DEFINITION AND SCOPE OF PALEOPATHOLOGY 



IHE study of the evidences of 



disease among ancient man and 



fossil animals is known as paleo- 

 _JL pathology, the term having first 

 been applied by Sir Marc Armand Ruffer 1 in 

 1914 2 to methods he had developed in 

 studying the pathological anatomy of the 

 ancient Egyptian mummies. He defined it 

 as follows : 



"Paleopathology is the science of the 

 diseases which can be demonstrated in 

 human and animal remains of ancient 

 times." 



The significance of the term has been 

 dwelt upon by Klebs, 3 and a further exten- 

 sion of its meaning to include, not only the 

 diseases of the ancient Egyptians but those 

 of prehistoric man and fossil animals as 

 well, has been suggested by the writer. 4 

 The field thus involved includes the re- 

 sources of anthropology and paleontology, 

 as well as some details contained in archeo- 

 Iogical studies. 



1 Sir Marc Armand Ruffer, distinguished for his 

 work in preventive medicine and for his studies 

 on the pathology of the Egyptian mummies, lost 

 his life while engaged in Red Cross work. See: 

 "Memorial Notice of Sir Marc Armand Ruffer," 

 by F. H. Garrison, Ann. Med. History, 191 7, vol. 

 i, No. 2, pp. 218-220, with portrait. 



2 Ruffer: "Studies in Paleopathology in Egypt," 

 J. Path. & Bacteriol. 1914, vol. 18, p. 149. 



3 Klebs: Johns Hopkins Hosp. Bull. 1917, vol. 

 28, pp. 261-266. 



4 Moodie: Am. J. Sc. 1916, vol. 41, pp. 530-53 1 ; 

 Science, N. S. 1916, vol. xliii, p. 425. 



6 The term prehistoric, of course, usually refers 

 to events prior to the details of recorded human 

 history, and is variously designated according to 



The present paper deals mainly with the 

 so-called prehistoric, 8 and especially pre- 

 human, evidences of disease (prior to 

 500,000 b.c.) of the extinct vertebrates. 

 It is interesting to note that the history 

 of disease, from the first geological evi- 

 dences at present obtainable down to the 

 historical data contained in August Hirsch's 

 "Handbook of Geographical and Historical 

 Pathology" (circa 600 B.C. to 1875 a.d.), 

 will be seen as a series of consecutive 

 events from the introduction of diseased 

 conditions among animals and plants down 

 to the present time. There can be no doubt 

 that many of the diseases existing today 

 are of very great antiquity, having a history 

 extending back into geological time for many 

 millions of years. 



It is not necessary nor pertinent to review 

 in this place the studies of Ruffer, Elliot 

 Smith, Wood Jones, Rietti, Fouquet and 

 other writers on the pathological anatomy 

 of the ancient Egyptian mummies, since 

 their results are so readily accessible. Their 



the region under discussion. Thus in Egypt any 

 grave earlier than the time of the first dynasty is 

 often called prehistoric. This implies an age of 

 6,000 years or more. In France LeBaron defines 

 the prehistoric period as closing at about 222 

 B.C., and several centuries later in Algeria. To 

 the paleontologist the term is meaningless. Klebs 

 has said: "The adjective 'prehistoric,' used so 

 often, would seem a misnomer, because the dis- 

 tinction of a history read in written records from 

 one seen and studied in equally characteristic 

 objects, chronologically determinable, is purely 

 arbitrary and artificial and it would do no harm 

 to drop it altogether." 



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