A possible case of Garre's sclerosing osteomyelitis from Medieval Tuscany (11th-12th centuries).

Archaeological excavations carried out at the castle of Monte di Croce near Florence brought to light a small cemetery complex belonging to the castle church, dated back to the 11th-12th centuries. An elite stone tomb contained the skeletal remains of a male aged 35-45 years with obvious pathology of the right tibia. The proximal metaphysis and the upper half of the diaphysis appear massively enlarged as a result of severe chronic periostitis.

THE MEDICI CHILDREN (FLORENCE, XVI-XVII CENTURIES): ANTHROPOLOGICAL STUDY AND PROPOSAL OF IDENTIFICATION.

Exploration of the Medici chapels in San Lorenzo in Florence revealed the burials of nine infantile members of the Medici family. Eight children were found in the intact tomb of the last Grand Duke Giangastone (1671- 1737). The crypt contained several small coffins collapsed to the floor or randomly spread over a raised plank, as a result of the disastrous flood of the Arno river in 1966, which partly upset the tomb and left a layer of dry mould.

Rheumatoid arthritis, Klippel-Feil syndrome and Pott's disease in Cardinal Carlo de' Medici (1595-1666).

Objective: A paleopathological study was carried out on the she skeletal remains of Cardinal Carlo de' Medici (1595-1666), son of the Grand Duke Ferdinando I (1549-1609) and Cristina from Lorraine (1565-1636), to investigate the articular pathology described in the archival sources.

Methods: The skeletal remains of Carlo, buried in the Basilica of San Lorenzo in Florence, have been exhumed and submitted to macroscopic and radiological examination.

Results: The skeleton of Carlo revealed a concentration of different severe pathologies.

Diffuse idiopathic skeletal hyperostosis in the Medici, Grand Dukes of Florence (XVI century).

Diffuse idiopathic skeletal hyperostosis (DISH) is a common systemic disorder characterised by the ossification of the anterior longitudinal spinal ligament involving at least three contiguous vertebrae and by diffuse extraspinal enthesopathies. The condition is associated with the male sex and with advanced age; its aetiology is uncertain, but seems to be related to obesity and diabetes. The most recent studies in archaeological series demonstrated a relation between high social status and the incidence of DISH.

The 'gout' of the Medici, Grand Dukes of Florence: a palaeopathological study.

Objective: According to the written sources several members of the famous Medici family of Renaissance Florence suffered from an arthritic disease, called 'gout' by contemporary physicians; a palaeopathological study allowed verification of the true nature of the 'gout of the Medici' referred by archive document data.

Methods: The skeletal remains of the Grand Dukes and their families, buried in the Basilica of San Lorenzo in Florence, were examined macroscopically and submitted to X-ray investigation.

Results: Out of 15 investigated individuals, two cases of diffuse idiopathic skeletal hyperostosis (DISH), with ossification of the anterior longitudinal ligament and massive hyperostotic changes of the extra-spinal ligaments, were detected in the skeletons of the Grand Dukes Cosimo I (1519-74) and his son Ferdinand I (1549-1609).