European journal of paediatric neurology : EJPN : official journal of the European Paediatric Neurology Society
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Eur. J. Paediatr. Neurol. · Nov 2009
Case Reports Historical ArticleNeural tube defect in a 4000-year-old Egyptian infant mummy: a case of meningocele from the museum of anthropology and ethnography of Turin (Italy).
This paper reports a paleopathological study of a severe neural tube defect in an ancient mummy, more specifically, a meningocele in an Egyptian infant from the XI dynasty (2100-1955B. C.). This is one of the most ancient cases of meningocele in mummified human remains described in paleopathological literature. ⋯ Only targeted, minimally invasive examinations were performed. An anthropological investigation with helical CT scan and histological analysis was used to diagnose the defect and identify post-mortem transformation processes. The analyses confirmed the diagnosis of meningocele in an approximately six-month-old infant.