Naslov
Four cases of ankylosing spondylitis in medieval skeletal series from Croatia

Autori
Šlaus, Mario ; Novak, Mario ; Čavka, Mislav

Izvornik
Rheumatology international (0172-8172) 32 (2012), 12; 3985-3993

Vrsta, podvrsta i kategorija rada
Radovi u časopisima, članak, znanstveni

Ključne riječi
paleopathology; ankylosing spondylitis; Medieval period; Croatia

Sažetak
Osteological changes consistent with ankylosing spondylitis were observed in three males and one female skeleton recovered from four medieval sites — Velim, Koprivno, Buje, and Rijeka - all situated on Croatia’s eastern Adriatic coast and its immediate hinterland. The skeletons present changes in the spine, ribs, sacrum, and innominates that are typical of ankylosing spondylitis that is a progressive, inXammatory disease of connective tissue calcification. The disease most commonly aVects the sacroiliac joints, the joints of the spine, and the costovertebral joints. In the final stages of the disease, the vertebral bodies remodel and together with the associated syndesmophytes form a continuous, smooth bone surface that is sometimes referred to as “bamboo spine.” The prevalence of this disorder in the analyzed Croatian samples is 4/303 or 1.3% and thus corresponds with frequencies recorded in modern European populations. Differential diagnosis rules out the possibility of DISH, rheumatoid arthritis, and melorheostosis. These are the first cases of ankylosing spondylitis identified in Croatian archaeological series.

Izvorni jezik
Engleski

Znanstvena područja
Arheologija

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