The anatomical record : advances in integrative anatomy and evolutionary biology
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An Egyptian mummy designated PUM I (Pennsylvania University Museum) was subjected to a complete autopsy in 1972. Forty-one years later, the senior author (MZ) was invited back to the Penn Museum to identify several packages of material that had been preserved with the mummy joining the project conservator (MG) in the evaluation of these remains. A summary of the 1972 examination reviews the dating of the mummy, about 3,000 years ago. ⋯ There have been major advances in the study of mummies since 1972, including computed tomography (CT) scanning, with much less invasive endoscopically guided biopsies, analysis for ancient DNA (aDNA), nuclear magnetic resonance technology, chemical analysis, and paleoserology. The value of complete autopsy must now be balanced against preservation of a complete mummy by less invasive techniques that are tissue sampled through guided technology. Indeed it is unlikely that these regions of the skin of PUM 1 would have been sampled and studied if these new tools of analysis had been available and applied.
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Noninvasive imaging tools have been the standard in mummy studies for several decades focusing primarily on CT scan technology. Although magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has been attempted on mummified tissues on numerous occasions these have met with varying degrees of success. The basic physics of MRI are reviewed here with an emphasis on how the physics limit the success of MRI in mummified tissues. ⋯ MRI can generate basic images in most tissues even when significantly desiccated. Using an understanding of the essentials of MRI physics, with the adjustment of MRI parameters, the data acquisition process can be enhanced to create the best possible images. When successfully applied, MRI generated images can allow for the resolution of soft tissue differences, especially of collapsed internal organ masses, even in dehydrated mummies that are much less effectively rendered in CT scans.
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Mummification leads to alteration of soft-tissue morphology. No research has focused specifically on differences in soft-tissue shrinkage depending on mummification type. This study evaluated whether soft-tissue alteration is dependent on type of mummification. ⋯ Variation between different anatomical structures (e.g., upper lip vs. mid-femur) is significant, unlike variation within one compartment (e.g., proximal vs. distal humerus). Mummification type strongly affects the degree of soft-tissue alteration, surprisingly mostly independent of overall historical age. These results highlight the unique morphological impact of taphonomy on soft-tissue preservation and are of particular interest in tissue research as well as in forensics.
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In May of 1994, Drs. Bob Brier and Ronn Wade produced the first modern mummy embalmed in the ancient Egyptian tradition. ⋯ The radiological study of MUMAB is combined here with the firsthand discussion of the processes that resulted in the mummy's radiographic appearance. This allows for a close examination of the assumptions made in the radiological study of ancient Egyptian mummified human remains in a way not possible for the ancient remains themselves.
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Terahertz imaging modalities of ancient Egyptian mummified objects and of a naturally mummified rat.
During the last few years, terahertz (THz) imaging has been used to investigate artwork and historic artifacts. The application of THz imaging to mummy investigations is very attractive since it provides spectroscopic information over a broad frequency range and its radiation has proven to be harmless to human cells. However, compared with the current standard imaging methods in mummy imaging-X-ray and computed tomography (CT)--it remains a novel, emerging technique whose potential still needs to be fully evaluated. ⋯ While the broadband THz time domain setup permits analyses of smaller samples, the electronic THz scanner allows the recording of data of thicker and larger samples at the expense of a limited spectral bandwidth. Terahertz imaging shows clear potential for mummy investigations, although currently CT imaging offers much higher spatial resolution. Furthermore, as commercial mobile THz scanners become available, THz imaging could be applied directly in museums or at excavation sites.