Posted on 10/17/2014 7:10:50 PM PDT by SunkenCiv
Doctors didn't have much of a medical history to help them unwrap the cause of death of their oldest patient, a 2,100-year-old female mummy...
Doctors performed a CT scan on the mummy Oct. 10 to come up with the working diagnosis. Relying on the scans, they reviewed her bone structure, size and teeth.
They compared their findings to X-rays that were taken of the mummy more than 40 years ago. The older scans had initially led doctors to believe the mummy was somewhere between the age of 4 and 9, and that she had died of tuberculosis.
Tuberculosis had been the diagnosis based on what appeared to be missing vertebrae in the lower spine. Kelman said infections, like tuberculosis, can wear away bone.
But based on the modern scans, doctors say she likely is a Caucasian toddler - no older than 3 - who may have died from a ruptured appendix, more commonly known as appendicitis.
What didn't change was the mummy's gender. Doctors said they could see braided hair under her gilded mask, which reinforced she was female.
The new cause of death came after doctors discovered the "missing" vertebrae weren't really missing. Rather, they were displaced. Scans showed the bones were lodged in her chest.
Kelman said it is likely the bones shifted during the mummification process because toddlers' bones aren't always completely fused in place.
Now, the theory is appendicitis, based on a "small, bright spot" doctors found in her central abdomen measuring 4.87 centimeters in diameter. Kelman said the spot is likely a calcified deposit that caused blockage to the appendix, resulting in a ruptured appendix.
(Excerpt) Read more at wptv.com ...
Well, now her family can fet some closure...
I thought Helen Thomas died of old age, not appendicitis.
Your response. One of the reasons I really enjoy FR.
I imagine appendicitis was a bit of a problem back then.
Still waiting for her VA appointment, is that it? /sarc>
One in 15 people get appendicitis. Without treatment the death rate is 20%. So prior to the era of modern medicine appendicitis killed over 1% of the population, many of them young. Tell that to the next leftist who tells you that industrial society is evil.
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