Paleoimaging of a modern mummy from Lithuania (circa 19th-20th century)

Dario Piombino-Mascali; Rimantas Jankauskas; Justina Kozakaitė; M Linda Sutherland

doi:10.1016/j.medici.2018.01.002

Paleoimaging of a modern mummy from Lithuania (circa 19th-20th century)

Medicina (Kaunas). 2017;53(6):410-419. doi: 10.1016/j.medici.2018.01.002. Epub 2018 Feb 14.

Authors

Dario Piombino-Mascali¹, Rimantas Jankauskas², Justina Kozakaitė², M Linda Sutherland³

Affiliations

¹ Department of Anatomy, Histology and Anthropology, Faculty of Medicine, Vilnius University, Vilnius, Lithuania. Electronic address: dario.piombino@mf.vu.lt.
² Department of Anatomy, Histology and Anthropology, Faculty of Medicine, Vilnius University, Vilnius, Lithuania.
³ Newport Diagnostic Center, Newport Beach, CA, USA.

PMID: 29429574
DOI: 10.1016/j.medici.2018.01.002

Abstract

An anthropogenic human mummy curated in the Museum of the History of Medicine, Vilnius University, was recently examined by means of computed tomography. Although the mummy lacked data regarding its specific context and historical information on its identity and chronology, the investigation focused on the embalming method adopted to preserve it. Some pathological alterations were also recorded. This research appears to suggest that this body was prepared for educational and/or scientific purposes rather than funerary purposes. Hence, the case could be categorized as a "medical mummy" prepared between the mid-19th and the mid-20th centuries.

Keywords: Anatomy; Education; Embalming; Mummy; Radiology.

MeSH terms

Embalming*
Humans
Lithuania
Mummies*
Tomography, X-Ray Computed*