Jawbones are susceptible to various tumours, sometimes originated from dental structures. Here we describe a case of a tumour in a mandible of a senile man from an archaeological excavation in South Italy (Torrecuso, XVII-XIX century CE). The right mandibular branch presents an extended, multilocular lesion. The X-ray analysis shows the erosion of the bone cortical layers and the thin trabeculae that circumscribe the lobular areas. The macroscopic, and radiological aspects of the mandibular lesion are consistent with an ameloblastoma. The diagnosis is supported by the morphological and radiological comparative analyses of the sample from Torrecuso with modern cases. Although it is a common tumour reported in medical literature and characterized by a multicameral lesion usually in the branch of the mandible, cases of ameloblastoma are uncommon in archaeological and anthropological reviews. Two cases of amleoblastoma were described in two adult female individuals from South America (550-850 CE) and an adult male from Spain (V-XI century CE). The most ancient case comes from the samnitic archaeological site of Opi (Central Italy, VI-V century BCE) Our case is the second one diagnosed in ancient human remains from Italian archaeological contexts.
AN HISTORICAL CASE OF AMELOBLASTOMA FROM SOUTH ITALY
CILLI, JACOPO;PAOLUCCI, ASSUNTA;D'ANASTASIO, RUGGERO
2016-01-01
Abstract
Jawbones are susceptible to various tumours, sometimes originated from dental structures. Here we describe a case of a tumour in a mandible of a senile man from an archaeological excavation in South Italy (Torrecuso, XVII-XIX century CE). The right mandibular branch presents an extended, multilocular lesion. The X-ray analysis shows the erosion of the bone cortical layers and the thin trabeculae that circumscribe the lobular areas. The macroscopic, and radiological aspects of the mandibular lesion are consistent with an ameloblastoma. The diagnosis is supported by the morphological and radiological comparative analyses of the sample from Torrecuso with modern cases. Although it is a common tumour reported in medical literature and characterized by a multicameral lesion usually in the branch of the mandible, cases of ameloblastoma are uncommon in archaeological and anthropological reviews. Two cases of amleoblastoma were described in two adult female individuals from South America (550-850 CE) and an adult male from Spain (V-XI century CE). The most ancient case comes from the samnitic archaeological site of Opi (Central Italy, VI-V century BCE) Our case is the second one diagnosed in ancient human remains from Italian archaeological contexts.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
