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The Question of Survival in Primitive Trepanations

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Trepanation, Trephining and Craniotomy

Abstract

Archaeological remains suggest that the survival after primitive trepanations was very high, reaching almost a 75% of the cases in some archaeological sites. This very high survival rate in primitive trepanations has been strongly criticised and more and more rigorous protocols of study of the remains are required to confirm the survival. Modern survival criteria are biological and radiological. We describe the most useful biological signs of survival and their temporal pattern. Postoperative infection is a reliable indirect sign of survival. We illustrate also the radiological signs of bone regeneration in computed tomographic studies of the skull.

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González-Darder, J.M. (2019). The Question of Survival in Primitive Trepanations. In: Trepanation, Trephining and Craniotomy . Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-22212-3_5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-22212-3_5

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-030-22211-6

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-030-22212-3

  • eBook Packages: MedicineMedicine (R0)

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