Modern Paleopathology, The Study of Diagnostic Approach to Ancient Diseases, their Pathology and Epidemiology

The study of paleopathology has two very different constituencies. One is the medical scientist, and the other the paleontologist/anthropologist. Their investigative procedures and professional jargon are different, sometimes to the point of mutual incomprehensibility. Nevertheless, they are tied together closely in this endeavor. Paleontologists/anthropologists have only a limited data base for the characterization and interpretation of pathology. This must come from the human and veterinary medical experience.What, beyond intellectual satisfaction, can the health care community expect from this relationship? The most important gains are probably within epidemiology. The past history of the appearance and dispersal of infectious disease and cancer can be of considerable theoretical importance and may lead to new insights on the nature and transmission of diseases that are otherwise ambiguous. The discovery of rheumatoid arthritis in pre-Columbian North America is one case in which such an insight may have been gained.While the field is referred to as paleopathology, it must be emphasized that pathology is actually relatively rare.  Study of paleopathology confirms its rarity and confirms that wild animals were generally free from diseases (that leave an osseous imprint). The current effort delineates osseous impact of disease (as manifest in clinical populations diagnosed in life), their representation in the paleontologic and anthropologic record, and the techniques that can be confidently applied in their assessment. The approach in this work is provision of a data base and atlas. The chapters form "columns" that provide the foundation for a scientific approach. The actual integration of the information is in its application, as exemplified in the final chapters. Our purpose is to provide a data base and atlas of actual documented skeletal impact of disease (as a population phenomenon), an initial data base of reported skeletal pathology, and a methodology for expanding this to new arenas. The first section of the book examines the scientific basis of paleopathology, its transition from previous speculation-based musings, resolution of misconceptions and reality checks and the denouement of paleo-epidemiology. The second section provides holistic analysis of the gamut of pathology/diseases with significant skeletal impact, with a validated archeologic/zoological/paleontological record. The third section provides a glossary to resolve the semantic challenges inherent to interdisciplinary efforts. The fourth section provides a photographic atlas of representation of pathology in the fossil record. Ultimately, this book intends to present a scientifically-validated approach to recognition of disease in the archeological, zoological and paleontological record. It will supersede previous speculation-based offerings.