Caring for the injured: Exploring the immediate and long-term consequences of injury in medieval Cambridge, England.

Objective: To combine paleopathological and biomechanical analysis to reconstruct the impact that a severe skeletal injury had on an individual's ability to function and participate in medieval society.

Materials: Three medieval individuals from Cambridge, England with ante-mortem fractures to the lower limb were analyzed.

Methods: Plain X-rays were used to determine the degree of malunion, rotation and overlap of each fracture.

Buried with their Buckles On: Clothed Burial at the Augustinian Friary, Cambridge.

GIRDLE BUCKLES ASSOCIATED with several groups of burials at the later-medieval Augustinian friary in Cambridge indicate that clothed burial was common, with a much higher prevalence than usual for the period. The clothed burial was highly regularised, in terms of both the garments worn and the types of buckles used, and apparently limited to members of the Augustinian Order. The buckles were primarily supplied by the friary, rather than representing individual choices, and there is evidence that the girdles that individuals were buried with were those they used in life.

Assessing the relative benefits of imaging with plain radiographs and microCT scanning to diagnose cancer in past populations.

Objective: To determine the degree to which plain radiographs (x-rays) and microCT scans can improve accuracy in the diagnosis of cancer in human remains from past populations.

Materials: The skeletal remains of 143 individuals from medieval Cambridgeshire, dating from 6th-16th century CE.

Methods: Visual inspection of the skeletons for lesions compatible with malignancy, coupled with plain radiographs and microCT scans of the pelvis, femora and vertebra.

Gout and 'Podagra' in medieval Cambridge, England.

Objective: To estimate the prevalence rate of gout and to explore the social factors that contributed to its development in the various sub-populations in medieval Cambridge.

Materials: 177 adult individuals from four medieval cemeteries located in and around Cambridge, UK.

Methods: Lesions were assessed macroscopically and radiographically.

The prevalence of cancer in Britain before industrialization.

Background: To plan for cancer services in the future, the long view of cancer prevalence is essential. It might be suspected that cancer prevalence before tobacco and industrial revolution pollutants was quite different to today.

Methods: To quantify the degree to which cancer prevalence may be changing over time, the authors analyzed 143 skeletons from 6 cemeteries from the Cambridge area (6th-16th centuries).

Intrapopulation variation in lower limb trabecular architecture.

Objectives: Trabecular structure is frequently used to differentiate between highly divergent mechanical environments. Less is known regarding the response of the structural properties to more subtle behavioral differences, as the range of intrapopulation variation in trabecular architecture is rarely studied. Examining the extent to which lower limb trabecular architecture varies when inferred mobility levels and environment are consistent between groups within a relatively homogenous population may aid in the contextualization of interpopulation differences, improve detectability of sexual dimorphism in trabecular structure, and improve our understanding of trabecular bone functional adaptation.

Osteobiography: The History of the Body as Real Bottom-Line History.

What is osteobiography good for? The last generation of archaeologists fought to overcome the traditional assumption that archaeology is merely ancillary to history, a substitute to be used when written sources are defective; it is now widely acknowledged that material histories and textual histories tell equally valid and complementary stories about the past. Yet the traditional assumption hangs on implicitly in biography: osteobiography is used to fill the gaps in the textual record rather than as a primary source in its own right. In this article we compare the textual biographies and material biographies of two thirteenth-century townsfolk from medieval England-Robert Curteis, attested in legal records, and "Feature 958," excavated archaeologically and studied osteobiographically.

Dizziness in older people: at risk of shared therapeutic nihilism between patient and physician. A qualitative study.

Background: Dizziness-related impairment is a strong predictor for an unfavourable course of dizziness in older people. In this study we explored the experiences of older patients with significant dizziness-related impairment and their wishes and expectations regarding general practitioner (GP) care. Knowing the expectations and priorities of people with dizziness may enable the GP to provide tailor-made care, which in turn may substantially increase the quality of life and decrease the use and costs of health care.