Fibrous dysplasia in a 120,000+ year old Neandertal from Krapina, Croatia.

We describe the first definitive case of a fibrous dysplastic neoplasm in a Neandertal rib (120.71) from the site of Krapina in present-day Croatia. The tumor predates other evidence for these kinds of tumor by well over 100,000 years.

A case of bilateral forefoot amputation from the Romano-British cemetery of Lankhills, Winchester, UK.

Excavations in 1967-1972 at the Romano-British cemetery of Lankhills, Winchester, revealed a male with an unusual transmetatarsal amputation of both forefeet. This is the only case known in England. Numerous explanations are considered, including accident, disease, and deliberate surgical amputation.

Spontaneous tension pneumopericardium complicating staphylococcal pneumonia.

The authors describe a patient with spontaneous pneumopericardium complicating staphylococcal pneumonia and empyema that resulted in cardiac tamponade. Spontaneous pneumopericardium is an unusual disorder. The causes and clinical findings of pneumopericardium are reviewed, as are the radiographic features that differentiate this condition from pneumomediastinum.

Edward B. D. Neuhauser Lecture. Paleoradiology of the prehistoric Australian aborigines.

Prehistoric populations suffered the rigors of everyday survival as hunter-gatherers, and some of the individuals had osseous manifestations as a result both of these stresses and of aging. Paleomedical scientists usually seek out osseous abnormalities found in skeletal remains, thus stressing the morbidity of a population [4]. In so doing, they portray those populations as less healthy than their own.