Evidence map›Paper›PMID 27504475›Full record

ReviewEuropean journal of radiology open2016

From first to latest imaging technology: Revisiting the first mummy investigated with X-ray in 1896 by using dual-source computed tomography.

Stephanie Zesch, Stephanie Panzer, Wilfried Rosendahl, John W Nance, Stefan O Schönberg, Thomas Henzler

Abstract readReview
In one paragraph

Review in European journal of radiology open, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 6 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
6citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

6 citing papers in PubMed.

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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors.

Stephanie ZeschReiss-Engelhorn-Museen, Museum Weltkulturen D5, 68159 Mannheim, Germany.
Stephanie PanzerDepartment of Radiology, Trauma Center Murnau, Prof.-Kuentscher-Strasse 8, 82418 Murnau, Germany; Institute of Biomechanics, Trauma Center Murnau and Paracelsus Medical University Salzburg, Prof.-Kuentscher-Strasse 8, 82418 Murnau, Germany.
Wilfried RosendahlReiss-Engelhorn-Museen, Museum Weltkulturen D5, 68159 Mannheim, Germany.
John W NanceDepartment of Radiology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard University, Boston, MA, USA.
Stefan O SchönbergInstitute of Clinical Radiology and Nuclear Medicine, University Medical Center Mannheim, Medical Faculty Mannheim-Heidelberg University, Theodor-Kutzer-Ufer 1-3, 68167 Mannheim, Germany.
Thomas HenzlerInstitute of Clinical Radiology and Nuclear Medicine, University Medical Center Mannheim, Medical Faculty Mannheim-Heidelberg University, Theodor-Kutzer-Ufer 1-3, 68167 Mannheim, Germany.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

purposeThe aim of this study was to systematically reinvestigate the first human mummy that was ever analyzed with X-ray imaging in 1896, using dual-source computed tomography (DSCT) in order to compare the earliest and latest imaging technologies, to estimate preservation, age at death, sex, anatomical variants, paleopathological findings, mummification, embalming and wrapping of the child mummy from ancient Egypt. Radiocarbon dating was used to determine the mummy's age and to specify the child's living period in the Egyptian chronology. MATERIAL AND

methodsThe ancient Egyptian child mummy is kept in the Senckenberg Museum of Natural History in Frankfurt am Main, Germany. An accelerator mass spectrometer (MICADAS) was used for radiocarbon dating. DSCT was performed using a 2 × 64 slice dual-source CT system (Siemens Healthineers, Forchheim, Germany). A thorough visual examination of the mummy, a systematic radiological evaluation of the DICOM datasets, and established methods in physical anthropology were applied to assess the bio-anthropological data and the post mortem treatment of the body.

resultsRadiocarbon dating yielded a calibrated age between 378 and 235 cal BC (95.4% confidence interval), corresponding with the beginning of the Ptolemaic period. The mummy was a male who was four to five years old at the time of death. Remnants of the brain and inner organs were preserved by the embalmers, which is regularly observed in ancient Egyptian child mummies. Skin tissue, inner organs, tendons and/or musculature, cartilage, nerves and vasculature could be identified on the DSCT dataset. The dental health of the child was excellent. Anatomical variants and pathological defects included a congenital Pectus excavatum deformity, hepatomegaly, Harris lines, and longitudinal clefts in the ventral cortices of both femora.

conclusionOur results highlight the enormous progress achieved form earliest to latest imaging technology for advanced mummy research using the first human mummy investigated with X-ray. With the application of DSCT, detailed knowledge regarding age at death, sex, diseases, death, and mummification of a child from Ptolemaic Egypt are revealed while considering the temporary rites of body treatment and burial for children.

Indexed as

Ancient EgyptChild mummyDual-energy computed tomographyHepatomegalyPectus excavatum deformityX-ray

Identifiers

PMID27504475
PMCPMC4968187

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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.