Endoscopic investigation of the internal organs of a 15th-century child mummy from Yangju, Korea.
Our previous reports on medieval mummies in Korea have provided information on their preservation status. Because invasive techniques cannot easily be applied when investigating such mummies, the need for non-invasive techniques incurring minimal damage has increased among researchers. Therefore, we wished to confirm whether endoscopy, which has been used in non-invasive and minimally invasive studies of mummies around the world, is an effective tool for study of Korean mummies as well. In conducting an endoscopic investigation on a 15th-century child mummy, we found that well-preserved internal organs remained within the thoracic, abdominal and cranial cavities. The internal organs - including the brain, spinal cord, lung, muscles, liver, heart, intestine, diaphragm and mesentery - were easily investigated by endoscopy. Even the stool of the mummy, which accidentally leaked into the abdominal cavity during an endoscopic biopsy, was clearly observed. In addition, unusual nodules were found on the surface of the intestines and liver. Our current study therefore showed that endoscopic observation could provide an invaluable tool for the palaeo-pathological study of Korean mummies. This technique will continue to be used in the study of medieval mummy cases in the future.
Kim
Seok Bae
SB
Department of Internal Medicine, Dankook University College of Medicine, Chonan, Korea.
Shin
Jeong Eun
JE
Park
Sung Sil
SS
Bok
Gi Dae
GD
Chang
Young Pyo
YP
Kim
Jaehyup
J
Chung
Yoon Hee
YH
Yi
Yang Su
YS
Shin
Myung Ho
MH
Chang
Byung Soo
BS
Shin
Dong Hoon
DH
Kim
Myeung Ju
MJ
D002048:Burial; D002648:Child; D004724:Endoscopy; D005243:Feces; D005336:Fiber Optic Technology; D006801:Humans; D007422:Intestines / Q000473:pathology; D007723:Korea; D008099:Liver / Q000473:pathology; D009106:Mummies / Q000473:pathology*; D014781:Viscera / Q000473:pathology*