Evidence of tuberculosis among children in medieval (13th–15th century) Wrocław: A case study of hip joint tuberculosis in a juvenile skeleton excavated from the crypt of the St. Elizabeth church

Abstract

Paleopathological examinations of the skeletal remains of people who died centuries ago are material source of knowledge about health and diseases in the past. In this article, a case of skeletal tuberculosis from historical (13th-15th c.) Wrocław, Poland has been presented. The juvenile skeleton excavated from grave No 93, from the crypt located under the church of St. Elizabeth, displayed pathological lesions within the right hip joint resulting from a chronic inflammation, which might have been assigned to signs typical for skeletal tuberculosis. The results of macroscopic and radiological analyses appeared to be consistent, and allowed to determine a reliable diagnosis of this paleopathological case.

Keywords

• mycobacterium tuberculosis
• hip joint tuberculosis
• juvenile tuberculosis
• paleopathology