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Lumbo-sacral malformations and spina bifida occulta in medieval skeletons from Brittany

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Abstract

Introduction

Compared with the other French regions, the incidence of neural tube defects is raised in Brittany. It can be explained by the Celtic origin of the Britton people, who migrated from Great Britain in the High Middle Ages. Notwithstanding, there are no historical or archeological evidences of the occurrence of these pathological conditions in medieval Brittany.

Materials and methods

We investigated the incidence of lumbo-sacral malformations on the skeletal remains of 30 individuals excavated from the necropolis of Saint-Urnel (southwest Brittany).

Results

We found out several anatomical variations among five specimens, three of which had spinal dysraphism involving the sacrum.

Conclusion

Our results enrich the very few paleopathological data about spinal dysraphism, from the Hippocratic Corpus to the first description of Spina Bifida in sixteenth century. But, their interpretation remains delicate until the same genetic factors are shown in the etiology of both open and closed spinal dysraphism.

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Acknowledgments

We pay homage to late professor Giot, a pioneer in archeology of Brittany.

Conflict of interest

None.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Orthopedic Surgery Service, University Hospital Center of Brest, Brest, France

    Ahmed Zemirline, Jean-Philippe Vincent, Dominique Le Nen & Frédéric Dubrana

  2. Neurosurgery Service, University Hospital Center of Brest, Brest, France

    Seddik Sid-Ahmed

  3. Medical College of Brest, University of Western Brittany, Brest, France

    Ahmed Zemirline, Jean-Philippe Vincent, Dominique Le Nen & Frédéric Dubrana

  4. Laboratoire de traitement des images médicales LATIM (INSERM U1011), Brest, France

    Ahmed Zemirline

  5. Service de Chirurgie Orthopédique, CHU de La Cavale Blanche, Boulevard Tanguy Prigent, 29200, Brest, France

    Ahmed Zemirline

Authors
  1. Ahmed Zemirline
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  2. Jean-Philippe Vincent
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  3. Seddik Sid-Ahmed
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  4. Dominique Le Nen
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  5. Frédéric Dubrana
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Ahmed Zemirline.

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Zemirline, A., Vincent, JP., Sid-Ahmed, S. et al. Lumbo-sacral malformations and spina bifida occulta in medieval skeletons from Brittany. Eur J Orthop Surg Traumatol 23, 149–153 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00590-012-0967-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00590-012-0967-2

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