Arterial angiography of a “catacomb mummy” from Palermo, Sicily
Transcription
Arterial angiography of a “catacomb mummy” from Palermo, Sicily
Arterial angiography of a “catacomb mummy” from Palermo, Sicily S. Panzer1, A. Zink2, D. Piombino-Mascali1* 1 2 Trauma Center Murnau, Prof. Küntscher Strasse 8, 82418, Murnau am Staffelsee, Germany. EURAC, Viale Druso 1, 39100, Bolzano, Italy. 1. Introduction At the end of the 16th century the Capuchin Catacombs in Palermo were excavated into the rock beneath the Capuchin Convent as tombs for the deceased friars (Farella, 1982; Piombino-Mascali et al., 2010). Reportedly, the first mummified body was placed in the Catacombs in 1599 and the last ones date to the 1880s (Farella, 1982). During this period, lay benefactors of the order were also allowed to inter their relatives inside the Catacombs. Later on, permission was also granted to several ordinary citizens. A few coffins were even placed there during the early 20th century at special request (Piombino-Mascali, 2009). Most of the “catacomb mummies” are known to be spontaneously mummified (Fornaciari and Capasso, 1996), while a number are reported to have been arterially injected with specific chemicals (Aufderheide, 2003; Piombino-Mascali, 2009; Piombino-Mascali et al., 2010). 2. Material and methods Within the framework of the “Sicily Mummy Project”, we investigated an externally wellpreserved and completely clothed mummy of an unknown adult male tentatively dated to the mid- to late 19th century (Fig. 1). Anteroposterior (AP) and lateral radiographs were undertaken with a mobile digital radiography system (Dragon DR, CXDI-50-G, Canon/Sedecal) inside the Catacombs. Composition of the AP radiographs led to the illustrated whole-body view. 3. Results Radiographs revealed relatively homogeneous, radio-dense material within the thoracic aorta and the supra-aortal arteries, the left ventricle and parts of the pulmonary veins, the abdomi- Figure 1. Adult male mummy from Palermo. This anthropogenic mummy was dated to the 19th century based on the clothing. * Correspondence to: D. Piombino-Mascali E-mail address: [email protected] 25 Panzer et al. • Journal of Paleopathology 24: 25–27, 2014 nal aorta with its branches including the renal arteries up to the periphery (Fig. 2), as well as parts of the arteries of the upper and lower extremities. The liver was shrunken and slightly hyper-dense. Both kidneys were preserved and showed discrete hyper-dense parenchyma between the filled vessels. The right thigh showed a horizontal cut of the soft tissue structures, was thickened and revealed diffuse areas of increased radio-density (Fig. 3). Additional findings included the presence of foreign bodies in the orbits and the nasal and oral cavities (Fig. 4). Both cerebral hemispheres were also preserved as clearly shrunken and hyper-dense structures, symmetrically next to the partially visible falx. 4. Conclusion Figure 3. Adult male mummy from Palermo. AP radiograph of the pelvis shows arterial filling of the iliac and femoral arteries. The right upper leg is markedly swollen and shows a horizontal cut with surrounding inhomogeneous radiodense material. Dense items of clothing are also visible. This mummy clearly illustrates the results of arterial injection, which was used as a method of anthropogenic mummification in Italy during the mid- and late 19th and the early 20th century (Marinozzi and Fornaciari, 2005; Piombino-Mascali, 2009). Obviously, the embalmer exposed the right superficial femoral artery at the site of the visible cut after death for injection of the embalming fluid. We suggest that the embalming fluid consisted of an arsenic solution that was Figure 2. Adult male mummy from Palermo. AP radiograph of the chest/abdomen shows arterial filling of the left heart and the aorta with its branches by very radio-dense material. Note the filling of the arterial vessels of both kidneys up to the periphery. 26 Figure 4. Adult male mummy from Palermo. Lateral radiograph of the skull shows radio-dense foreign bodies in the orbits, the nasal passage and the oral cavity. Preserved cerebral hemispheres are shrunken, very dense and dislocated dorsally. The cerebellum is also preserved. Parts of the cervical arteries are filled with radio-dense material. Panzer et al. • Journal of Paleopathology 24: 25–27, 2014 popular during this time, which additionally contained mercury. The mercury contributed to the radio-density because of its high atomic number (= 80). The perfect distribution of the embalming fluid, especially into the peripheral parts of the body, demonstrates the high quality of the embalmer’s workmanship at the time. The coincidental use of a radio-dense material employed during the embalming allowed a whole-body arterial angiography of this 19th century “catacomb mummy” to be visible in the 21st century. Acknowledgments The EURAC “Sicily Mummy Project” was partly supported by the National Geographic Society (Grant number: #ECO 38 1-08, awarded to Dr. Dario Piombino-Mascali). References Aufderheide AC (2003) The Scientific Study of Mummies. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge. Farella FD (1982) Cenni Storici della Chiesa e delle Catacombe dei Cappuccini di Palermo. Edizioni “Fiamma Serafica”, Palermo. Fornaciari G, Capasso L (1996) Natural and artificial 13th-19th century mummies in Italy. In Spindler K, Wilfing H, Rastbichler-Zissernig E, zur Nedden D, Nothdurfter H (Eds.) Human Mummies: a global survey of their status and the techniques of conservation. The Man in Ice 3: 195-203. Marinozzi S, Fornaciari G (2005) Le Mummie e l’Arte Medica nell’Evo Moderno. Medicina nei Secoli, Supplemento 1. Piombino-Mascali D (2009) Il Maestro del Sonno Eterno. La Zisa, Palermo. Piombino-Mascali D, Aufderheide AC, Johnson Williams M, Zink AR (2009) The Salafia Method Rediscovered. Virchows Archiv 454 (3): 355-357. Piombino-Mascali D, Aufderheide AC, Panzer S, Zink AR (2010) Mummies from Palermo. In Wieczorek A, Rosendahl W (Eds.) Mummies of the World. The Dream of Eternal Life Prestel, New York, pp. 357-361. 27
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