Paleopathological findings of dry skulls with plagiocephaly.
In literature, plagiocephaly is defined as abnormal asymmetrical head shape with unilateral flattening of the anterior and/or posterior part of the skull. It is classified as synostotic or deformational. Synostotic plagiocephaly is the result of premature unilateral fusion of neurocranim sutures. Positional plagiocephaly is caused by asymmetrical intrauterine and/or postnatal external forces. The authors report findings of both types of plagiocephaly in the dry skull collection from pertaining Broumov Ossuary (13th-18th century), Czech Republic. In the paper, the incidence of paleopathological asymmetrical skull deformities is discussed in the context with recent clinical data.
Pospíhilová
Blanka
B
Charles University in Prague, Department of Anatomy, Faculty of Medicine in Hradec Králové, Czech Republic. pospisil@lfhk.cuni.cz
Procházková
Olga
O
D003398:Craniosynostoses / Q000266:history*; D018153:Czech Republic; D049668:History, 15th Century; D049669:History, 16th Century; D049670:History, 17th Century; D049671:History, 18th Century; D049691:History, Medieval; D006801:Humans; D010164:Paleopathology; D049068:Plagiocephaly, Nonsynostotic / Q000266:history*; D012886:Skull / Q000002:abnormalities*