Brickley, M. B., Mays, S. and Ives, R. (2005). Skeletal manifestations of vitamin D deficiency osteomalacia in documented historical collections. Internat J Osteoarchaeol 15 (6). Vol 15(6), pp. 389-403.
 Title The title of the publication or report |
Skeletal manifestations of vitamin D deficiency osteomalacia in documented historical collections | |||
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Issue The name of the volume or issue |
Internat J Osteoarchaeol 15 (6) | |||
Series The series the publication or report is included in |
International Journal of Osteoarchaeology | |||
Volume Volume number and part |
15 (6) | |||
Page Start/End The start and end page numbers. |
389 - 403 | |||
Biblio Note This is a Bibliographic record only. |
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Publication Type The type of publication - report, monograph, journal article or chapter from a book |
Journal | |||
Abstract The abstract describing the content of the publication or report |
It is suggested that the frequency with which changes related to vitamin D deficiency are recorded in juvenile bone from archaeological contexts makes it clear that conditions conducive to such deficiency were fairly widespread at a number of points in the past, and that although changes will take longer to be manifest in the adult skeleton than in juveniles, and may not be as obvious, the scarcity of reported cases suggests that it is likely that cases of osteomalacia are being overlooked in archaeological human bone. Vitamin D is probably better described as a hormone, rather than a vitamin, and the production of vitamin D within the body following exposure to sunlight allows adequate mineralisation of bone to take place. Lack of exposure to sunlight, which can be caused by a range of factors, is probably one of the main causes of vitamin D deficiency. The result of such a deficiency is a general weakening of the skeleton. The range of skeletal changes recorded across different bones of the skeleton in two documented historical pathology collections (the Galler collection, Basel, and the collection of the Federal Museum for Pathological Anatomy, Vienna), are discussed for scapulae, vertebrae, ribs, sterna, pelves and femora. The likelihood of each feature being preserved in archaeological skeletal material is considered. Although the changes associated with osteomalacia may lead to fragmentation of the skeleton, it is suggested that the presence of characteristic changes on bones from across the skeleton should make the condition identifiable using macroscopic examination, even where the skeleton is not well preserved. The identification of cases of osteomalacia in archaeological skeletal material is potentially significant because of the socio-cultural information that can be implied from diagnosis of the condition. | |||
Year of Publication The year the book, article or report was published |
2005 | |||
Locations Any locations covered by the publication or report. This is not the place the book or report was published. |
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Source Where the record has come from or which dataset it was orginally included in. |
BIAB
(The British & Irish Archaeological Bibliography (BIAB))
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Relations Other resources which are relevant to this publication or report |
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Created Date The date the record of the pubication was first entered |
04 May 2007 |
