Abstract
The pattern of arthritis in Roman Britain was investigated by examining the skeletons of 416 adults from the Roman cemetery at Poundbury Camp near Dorchester, Dorset. The mean height of the people was not much less than that of the current British population, and the prevalence of right handedness was similar to our own. There was a high prevalence of osteoarthritis for such a relatively young community, with particularly severe changes in the vertebral column. The pattern of joints affected by osteoarthritis was different from that seen now, but the prevalence of vertebral ankylosing hyperostosis was much the same. Rheumatoid arthritis was seen as often as the expected rat would indicate, given that the population died young, but it was rare. Other forms of arthritis, including gout and ankylosing spondylitis, were not seen.
Full text
PDF
Images in this article
Selected References
These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.
- Coren S., Porac C. Fifty centuries of right-handedness: the historical record. Science. 1977 Nov 11;198(4317):631–632. doi: 10.1126/science.335510. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Dequeker J. Arthritis in Flemish paintings (1400-1700). Br Med J. 1977 May 7;1(6070):1203–1205. doi: 10.1136/bmj.1.6070.1203. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Huskisson E. C., Dieppe P. A., Tucker A. K., Cannell L. B. Another look at osteoarthritis. Ann Rheum Dis. 1979 Oct;38(5):423–428. doi: 10.1136/ard.38.5.423. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Julkunen H., Heinonen O. P., Pyörälä K. Hyperostosis of the spine in an adult population. Its relation to hyperglycaemia and obesity. Ann Rheum Dis. 1971 Nov;30(6):605–612. doi: 10.1136/ard.30.6.605. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Rogers J., Watt I., Dieppe P. Arthritis in Saxon and mediaeval skeletons. Br Med J (Clin Res Ed) 1981 Dec 19;283(6307):1668–1670. doi: 10.1136/bmj.283.6307.1668. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Shichikawa K., Mayeda A., Komatsubara Y., Yamamoto T., Akabori O., Hongo I., Kosugi T., Miyauchi T., Orihara M., Taniguchi A. Rheumatic complaints in urban and rural populations in Osaka. Ann Rheum Dis. 1966 Jan;25(1):25–31. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Short C. L. The antiquity of rheumatoid arthritis. Arthritis Rheum. 1974 May-Jun;17(3):193–205. doi: 10.1002/art.1780170302. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- TROTTER M., GLESER G. C. A re-evaluation of estimation of stature based on measurements of stature taken during life and of long bones after death. Am J Phys Anthropol. 1958 Mar;16(1):79–123. doi: 10.1002/ajpa.1330160106. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- TROTTER M., GLESER G. C. Estimation of stature from long bones of American Whites and Negroes. Am J Phys Anthropol. 1952 Dec;10(4):463–514. doi: 10.1002/ajpa.1330100407. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]