Hydrocephalus in Ancient Egypt | Ancient Egypt |
This is a continuation of the
discussion on the "eggheads" thread that Eva began. I remembered somethings from my Art History class and started a web search and this is what I found. +++++ http://teaching.ucdavis.edu/nut120a/0038.htm "Dwarfism is readily depicted in tomb art, statuary, and coffin lids. The form typically is achondroplasia. Club foot can be identified, also increased hydrocephalic pressure that led to enlarged skulls." I'm looking around for secondary resources for the incidence of Hydrocephalus in Ancient Egypt. From what I recall from my art history classes, the Royal family had Hydrocephalus. Queen Nefretiti, queen of that Whacked AKHEN-ATON was thought to have this condition, ergo the big hat. As for what AKHEN-ATON might have been suffering from here's a very interesting page for those folks who find medical mysteries facinating. http://www.arabworldbooks.com/medical.htm But on with the research of the elongated heads... http://www.specialtyinterests.net/dyn18.html "Later Dr. G. Elliot Smith, a professor of anatomy, examined the remains and declared the body to be male about 25 to 26 years old based on ossification. This age was later reduced to 24 years old by Dr. Derry, who took over the position of Dr. Smith, who agreed to the reduction in age of the mummy. Also, the skull bore evidence of hydrocephalus according to Dr. Smith, an abnormal condition in which the frontal part of the cranium is extended but never the occipital part, as is the case with the cranium of Akhnaton. This finding, too, was later judged a normal family related feature by Dr. Derry. He asked Dr. Engelbach, an Egyptologist, to examine the evidence and determine whose body it could be. He decided it was the mummy of Smenkhare, a favorite of Akhnaton, who also bore those titles. A comparison of the mummy remains of `Smenkhare' and `Thutankhamen' revealed that they were brothers. This fact has reportedly been confirmed more recently by determining the blood group on the bases of small amounts of remaining skin of the mummy of KV55 as the rare A2 type which also happens to be the type of the mummy of Tuthankhamen." http://tinyurl.com/5ofv http://www.uic.edu/classes/osci/osci590/6_2Mummies%20Mummies%20and%20D isease%20in%20Egypt.htm (1) Congenital Disorders. Egypt is a major source of skeletal evidence for achondroplasia. One poignant specimen is an achondroplastic woman with her undeliverable fetus; in our day, a Caesarean section is necessary for a live birth. Two embalmed fetuses were recovered from Tutankhamun's tomb in 1926. One had a congenital defect--spinal bifida. Whether they were children of his wife Ankhesenamun is unknown. Club foot, cleft palate, and hydrocephalus have also been found.
http://www.medicalandnursing-training.com/medic/dwarfism.html
Angelica offered this link to replace the following link that is no longer
available.
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