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Surgery in the early middle ages: Evidence of cauterisation from Pisa

2011; Elsevier BV; Volume: 151; Issue: 3 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1016/j.surg.2011.09.046

1532-7361

Antonio Fornaciari, Valentina Giuffra,

Oral and Craniofacial Lesions

Archeologic excavations carried out in the famous Cathedral Square of Pisa brought to light a multiple ground grave dating to the early Middle Ages (8th–10th Centuries AD). 1 Alberti A. Paribeni E. Archeologia in Piazza dei Miracoli. Gli scavi 2003–2009. Felici, Pisa, Italy2011 Google Scholar The well preserved skull of an adult female aged about 30 years revealed some form of “surgical” intervention. In the central part of the frontal bone, 4 cm from the bregma, a 20 × 17 mm elliptical lesion limited by a shallow 1-mm thick groove is easily visible (Fig, A); the surface of the lesion appears to be finely cribrose with minute bone crests radially disposed around a more marked central crest (Fig, B). The endocranial surface is intact. The lesion appears to be the result of an inflammatory process of the soft tissues and the periostium that involved the underlying skull vault.