Archaeologists were able to uncover a peculiar and oddly gruesome lump that protruded over a centuries-old thigh bone of a woman.
Rope-like Lump Over Woman's Centuries-old Thigh Bone
A crippling, 8 cm-long bone growth mushroomed on a woman’s femur after a traumatic muscle injury — @Sandra_sd_Assis gave me details of this rare and extreme case of myositis ossificans traumatica @LiveScience https://t.co/yOrEB1YKqN
— Sascha Pare (@saschapare) April 11, 2023
According to Live Science, the lump spans around three inches. It is situated exactly where the pubic bone and inner thigh bone are connected with muscle joints. Considering this, the woman may have experienced severe mobility impairments and disabling pain.
The case was documented in a study published in the International Journal of Paleopathology. Sandra Assis, the study's lead author and a biological anthropologist from the NOVA University Lisbon at Portugal, notes that this is the first time for her to see such a huge formation of bones. This made the bone's morphology particularly intriguing for the scientist.
The skeleton of this maimed woman was reportedly unearthed back in 2002 at the São Julião Church ancient necropolis. This is located at the Constância village in Portugal. The woman's remains were found in a group of 45 children and 106 adults who lived around 200 to 600 years ago.
She was found on her back. Her hands rested over her pelvis while her head tilted to the right side and a coin was on her left forearms.
The woman's skeleton was incomplete, and it also lacked the left femur. Despite this, these remains were preserved well and showed that she was around five feet tall and more than 50 years old.
The rope-like lump was found as the researchers were cleaning her remains in the lab.
Odd Lump May Have Resulted From Severe Trauma
They found no fracture on the thigh bones and were quite uncertain about the cause of the odd spurt. They later concluded in the study that the rope-like spur in the bones may have resulted from extreme trauma.
The injury may have been six weeks to a year old when the woman died. It may have hampered her mobility and ability to handle weight.
According to Live Science, it may have specifically resulted from a traumatic accident that crippled a muscle inside the woman's thigh known as the pectineus. This is reportedly the first time for paleopathologists to document peculiar bone growth in this case. It is also called myositis ossificans traumatica.
Cleveland Clinic notes that such a condition follows traumatic injury. It takes place when tissues of bone grow in areas where they should not. In most cases, it happens over soft or muscle tissues.
Assis explains that the appearance of the bone on the femur suggests a process that is long standing. Though they do not know the woman's medical history, upon examining similar cases, they assume that it was quite disabling and debilitating.
At present, cases like this could be handled with surgery. However, back when the woman lived, this was not an option for her.
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