Scenes from the past: radiologic evidence of anthropogenic mummification in the Capuchin Catacombs of Palermo, Sicily

Radiographics : a Review Publication of the Radiological Society of North America, Inc
Stephanie PanzerDario Piombino-Mascali

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to use paleoradiologic analyses to investigate a sample of the mummies in the Capuchin Catacombs in Palermo, Sicily, in order to assess skeletal abnormalities and the state of preservation, especially the condition of the internal organs, and to determine radiologic evidence of anthropogenic mummification. Ten 19th and early 20th century mummies with good external preservation were investigated by using a portable direct radiography unit inside the Capuchin Catacombs. The radiographs clearly demonstrated signs of anthropogenic mummification in nine of the 10 mummies investigated. The embalming methods that had been used included (a) evisceration and arterial injection; (b) the placement of foreign materials into the orbits and the nasal and oral cavities; and (c) filling of the thoracic, abdominal, and rectal cavities with foreign materials. Organ preservation varied greatly among the mummies, although brain tissue was found in all of the mummies. Analyses of the skeletal material of the mummies showed evidence of healed vertebral fractures, age-related degenerative changes, and, in one of the child mummies, a remarkable skeletal pathologic condition. The radiographs clearly illustrated different m...Continue Reading

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Citations

Jun 4, 2013·Annals of Anatomy = Anatomischer Anzeiger : Official Organ of the Anatomische Gesellschaft·Stephanie PanzerDario Piombino-Mascali
Mar 11, 2016·Radiographics : a Review Publication of the Radiological Society of North America, Inc·Amelie AlteraugeSandra Lösch
Aug 2, 2011·Clinical Anatomy : Official Journal of the American Association of Clinical Anatomists & the British Association of Clinical Anatomists·S PanzerD Piombino-Mascali
May 23, 2015·The Anatomical Record : Advances in Integrative Anatomy and Evolutionary Biology·Dario Piombino-MascaliStephanie Panzer
Sep 24, 2013·Forensic Science International : Synergy·Frank MusshoffDario Piombino-Mascali
Feb 13, 2018·Medicina·Dario Piombino-MascaliM Linda Sutherland
Feb 1, 2014·Clinical Anatomy : Official Journal of the American Association of Clinical Anatomists & the British Association of Clinical Anatomists·Philippe Charlier
Jan 26, 2020·International Journal of Legal Medicine·Guendalina GentileRiccardo Zoja
Jun 25, 2020·Medicine, Science, and the Law·Paolo BailoRiccardo Zoja
Jun 28, 2018·Surgical and Radiologic Anatomy : SRA·Veronica MacchiRaffaele De Caro

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