Dr. I. Pap szerk.: Studia historico-anthropologica (Anthropologia Hungarica 22. Budapest, 1992)

ANTHROPOLOGIA HUNGARICA XXII. 1992 p. 61-66. Severe cervical spina bifida in 16-18th century fossil material by G. Tóth and B. Buda, Szombathely Tóth, G. and Buda, B.: Severe cervical spina bifida in i

6-18th century fossil material. — Anthrop. hung. 1992, 22: 61-66. Abstract — The authors examined the closure deficiency of the vertebra of a fragmentary male skeleton from a 16-18th century cemetery, Hungary, Transdanubia. The serious grade lesion affected the cervical section (vert. c. I-VI). With 4 figures. INTRODUCTION Dysmorphology — one of the branches of paleopathology — deals with morphological and clinical manifestations of congenital developmental anomalies. These dysmorph features fall outside the field of variations considered normal. The most frequently seen congenital malformations are the closure anomalies of the neural tube. During the fetal development, disorders can affect the process of the formation of the neural tube. It fails to close, and the forms developing from it remain open. Main groups of closure disorders (Barta 1983, Csécsey et al. 1982, Czeizel 1976, Czeizel et al. 1973, Juhász 1982, Mumenthaler 1989, Papp 1986): — anencephalia, exencephalia (complete or partial deficiency of the cerebrum or the neurocranium, or their developmental anomalies), — spina bifida (closure deficiency of the vertebra in the mesial line, cleft spine), — encephalocele (protrusion of the cerebral substance from the imperfectly closed cranium). The first two forms make up 95% of the neural tube closure anomalies (Éry 1974, Papp 1986). MATERIAL AND METHOD The sand-pit of Gencsapáti-Felső (Hungary, Vas County, 5 kilometres from Szombathely) is known as a Pleistocene age site (Horváth 1958, 1965). In the 16-18th centuries A.D., the area was used as a cemetery. No significant archeological findings have been unearthed (Gábor Kiss archaeologist's personal