Matskási István (szerk.): A Magyar Természettudományi Múzeum évkönyve 88. (Budapest 1996)

Ubelaker, D. H. ; Pap, I.: Health profiles of a Bronze Age population from northeastern Hungary

humeri. Both proximal ends show extensive unusual well remodeled bone deposits with flattened heads. Both bones are symmetrical with slight posterior and medial displacement. This condition likely represents a case of abnormal metaphysis development (slipped epiphysis), complicated by subsequent arthritic involvement and possible trauma. The corresponding areas of the glenoid cavities of the scapulae show abnormal flattening. Maximum length of the left humerus is 277 mm. Some eburnation, suggesting cartilage destruction is present on the proximal left humerus. Another likely case of slipped epiphysis occurs on the femora of an adult male from 69.5.14. The femoral necks are not well defined and the bones are markedly shortened. The adult male of 70.2.12 shows fusion of the neural arches of the second and third cervical vertebrae. This likely represents a congenital condition. The adult female of 70.4.25 displays two fused lumbar vertebrae (Fig. 12) and fusion of the two pubic bones in the midline (Figs 13 and 14). A large perimortem lesion is present on the frontal of the adult female of 69.2.2. This circular lesion with irregular margins measures approximately 7 mm in diameter. The lesion includes a slight endocranial perforation. Slight bone reaction is evident on the external surface, precluding a postmortem origin of the lesion. The adult male of 68.132.8 shows extreme arthritic bone involvement on the femoral head and neck with slight eburnation (cartilage destruction) on the left femoral head. No other severe arthritic changes were noted on this individual. Lines of arrested growth Lines of arrested growth or "Harris Lines" reflect areas of abnormal bone formation produced by a temporary reduction in the rate of longitudinal diaphyseal bone growth. These lines provide some information about morbidity during the lifetime of the individual. Unfortunately, the lines cannot be correlated directly with disease experience because (1) they do not always appear following disease or nutritional problems, (2) they sometimes appear without an obvious cause, and (3) unlike enamel hypoplasias, they can be removed through the process of bone remodeling. In this study, radiological examination for lines of arrested growth was confined to the distal tibia. One well preserved distal tibia was examined for each individual for whom sex could be reliably estimated. Contact radiographs were prepared by placing the distal tibia in contact with the radiographic plate. All bones were oriented in an anteriorposterior position. Observations on lines were made from the developed radiographic film. A line was scored as present if it presented distinct radiological characteristics and extended more than 50% across the diameter of the diaphysis. The distance was also measured between each recognizable line and the distal metaphyseal surface. In immature individuals with separate distal epiphyses, this measurement was simply the distance from the line to the extreme distal end of the bone. In adults, the distal measuring point was defined as the radiodense linear area near the distal end that appeared to represent the site of epiphyseal union in the central portion of the diaphysis. In immature tibiae, five lines were found from one individual within a total sample of 12. The frequency of lines per individual ranged was only .42. The percentage of af-