Rickets

            This week I decided to talk about a project I have been doing this semester about bone diseases. My teammate, student in 3rd year chemistry, and I chose to talk about rickets because it is relevant for both archaeology and pure science.

            First, rickets is skeletal growth disorder causing failure to mineralize bone and cartilaginous tissue before fusion of epiphyseal plates. In other words, while you are still growing, your body does not receive the elements, mostly vitamin-D, to mineralize your bones so they are fragile and deformities can occur. It is only seen in youth and has both genetic and environmental causes. In the picture, focus on the leg deformities of both the children from the right and left.

            The skeletal archaeological record shows evidence of rickets as soon as in the beginning of our evolution in Homo erectus, more precisely the "Man of Java". First written evidence of the disease can be read in early Chinese manuscripts of 200 AD and in Rome's manuscripts in 110AD, but they only describe the care of the children not the disease itself. In the Annual Bill of Mortality of the City of London in 1634, we can see the first medical description of rickets.

            A research done in 2006 by May presents proof of rickets in the UK from the 19th century, in the Churchyard of St.Martin's church in Birmingham. She recovered 164 immature skeletons from which 21 showed evidence of rickets.  In order to diagnose the disease on a skeleton we have can do a macroscopic analysis. Bowing of the long bones of the legs, some particular changes at the metaphysis of long bones and a change in the cortical bone porosity clearly prove that an individual died while having rickets.

            In sum, I think that study of the diseases in the past society remains a key in the understanding of our evolution and the fact that we have access to this information by study closely the bones is something magical in my point of view. Just an other way to get to know dead people.

This is a brief talk about rickets but if you want more information, here are some of my sources:

BRICKLEY, Megan and IVES, Rachel. The Bioarchaeology of Metabolic Bone Diseases.

Amsterdam, Academic Press, 2008, pp. 333.

BROTHWELL, Don. Diseases in Antiquity. Springfield, Illinois, Charles C Thomas Publisher, 1967, 766 pp.

MAYS, S., BRICKLEY, M. and IVES, R. "Skeletal Manifestations of Rickets in Infants and Yound Children in a Historic Population from England", American Journal of Physical Anthropology, vol 129, 2006, pp 362-374.