Remodelages des enthèses fibrocartilagineuses dans les spondylarthropathies inflammatoires l’exemple du cimetière du couvent des Sœurs Grises de Beauvais (Oise), XVe-XVIIIe siècles

Abstract

The spondyloarthropathies are a group of related conditions which have in common genetic factors, clinical features and a specific pathological target: the enthesis. Recent medical data point out the enthesopathies in spondyloarthropathies would differ from those caused by degenerative processes, being characterized by erosive lesions leading secondarily to an ossification. In order to evaluate the validity of these assumptions on the osteological material, a comparative study between the appendicular fibrocartilaginous entheses lesions of six individuals showing signs of spondyloarthropathies and those of “healthy” individuals coming from the same sample was realized. The influence of ageing on the osseous signs of enthesopathies was also considered. The results indicate that osteolysis, sometimes associated with a cicatricial osseous production, is the mainly observed remodelling aspect for some insertions of the six cases, whereas this feature is rare in the remainder of the population. These results agree with the medical literature data and make it possible to propose a first characterization of the remodelling process of entheses in spondyloarthropathies diagnosed on osteological material.

Keywords

• enthesopathy
• palaeopathology
• spondyloarthropathy
• enthesis
• fibrocartilage