Bruce Rothschild

University of Kansas | KU · Biodiversity Institute

Several types of pathological bony overgrowth are known from various dinosaur taxa but, except for stress fractures, are rarely reported from appendicular elements. Herein we describe pathological manual and pedal phalanges of a camarasaurid sauropod (SMA 0002), which show features rarely recognised in non-avian dinosaurs. They include lateral oste...

Studies on the evolution of tuberculosis, and the influence of this disease on human and animal development and interaction, require the accumulation of indisputable biomarker evidence. Ideally, the determination of full genomes would provide all the necessary information, but for very old specimens DNA preservation may be compromised and only limi...

Palaeopathologies are relatively common in the fossil record; however, bone histological analyses of these are rare as they are more commonly discovered and described using radiological scans. Here, we describe the bone microstructure of infectious abscesses (osteomyelitis) in the long bones of two Stegosaurus individuals from the Como Bluff area o...

Alterations of vertebral endplates have long been a subject of interest, but are of unclear clinical significance. The vertebral columns of a cohort-based sample of 850 individuals were therefore evaluated for vertebral endplate defects, noting adjacent vertebral size and shape variation, bone density and associated pathologies. Defects were found...

Paravertebral osseous masses in reptiles have been attributed to Paget's disease on the basis of histology. Histologically recognized mosaic architecture and cement lines, however, lack specificity. A Varanus dorianus with this condition was subjected to standard and computerized tomography. Because the masses were extraskeletal in nature, Paget's...

![Figure][1] CREDIT: MARCEL BRAENDLI/ISTOCKPHOTO The impact of modern air travel on magnifying the spread of communicable diseases to epidemic levels has been well recognized [“Coming to an airport near you,” A. R. McLean, Perspectives, 13 December 2013, p. [1330][1]; “The hidden

Here we describe two instances of pathological vertebral fusion in two genera of sauropodomorph dinosaurs from the Early Jurassic Lufeng Formation in Yunnan, China. The first is a specimen, of Lufengosaurus huenei with two fused cervical vertebrae, and the other is a specimen of the Lufeng basal sauropod, with two fused caudal vertebrae. Both patho...

The term tropical ulcer, as applied to bone pathology, describes the specific pathologic phenomenon of the presence of a well-defined osteomatous shelf formation on the anteromedial aspect of the tibia. Despite the appellation ‘tropical,’ this pathology is not geographically limited to tropical regions, although it has not previously been reported...

Odontochelys semitestacea, the oldest known turtle, from the Late Triassic of China, shows a pathology. Sharply defined, focal depressions were noted on the articular surfaces of both humeri, documenting avascular necrosis. Diving habits of Mesozoic marine reptiles have been characterized on the basis of this localized form of bone death attributed...

Scratches on bones have routinely been attributed to tooth marks (a predominantly untested speculation), ignoring the effects of claws, perhaps because of the general assumption that claws are too soft to damage bone. However, some pathologies appears to be more compatible with claw rather than tooth impacts. Therefore, it is critical to determine...

Tendency to afflict one part of the skeleton, rather than another, could be referred to as the osseotropism of the disease. That term would also include which part of the particular bone was affected. That, in addition to characteristics of erosions, facilitates distinguishing spondyloarthropathy from rheumatoid arthritis, calcium pyrophosphate dep...

Bursitis is quite responsive to therapeutic intervention, once the afflicted area is accurately identified. This is especially notable for some hip complaints. Patients' use of the term "hip" can relate to anything from the low back to groin to lateral thigh pain. Trochanteric area surface localization of "hip" pain may afford an opportunity for im...

Lateral epicondylitis is a relatively common clinical problem, easily recognized on palpation of the lateral protuberance on the elbow. Despite the "itis" suffix, it is not an inflammatory process. Therapeutic approaches with topical non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, corticosteroids and anesthetics have limited benefit, as would be expected if...

Feeding strategies of the large theropod, Tyrannosaurus rex, either as a predator or a scavenger, have been a topic of debate previously compromised by lack of definitive physical evidence. Tooth drag and bone puncture marks have been documented on suggested prey items, but are often difficult to attribute to a specific theropod. Further, postmorte...

Discovery of a fossil (30-35 million-year-old) urolith from Early Oligocene deposits in northeastern Colorado provides the earliest evidence for the antiquity of bladder stones. These are spherical objects with a layered phosphatic structure and a hollow center. Each layer is composed of parallel crystals oriented perpendicular to the surface. Macr...

Pathological or traumatic loss of teeth often results in the resorption and remodeling of the affected alveoli in mammals. However, instances of alveolar remodeling in reptiles are rare. A remodeled alveolus in the maxilla of the Chinese theropod Sinosaurus (Lower Jurassic Lower Lufeng Formation) is the first confirmed example of such dental pathol...

Examination of preserved skin from a duckbill dinosaur revealed disruption of the normal scale pattern and replacement by granulation tissue. Wrinkles radiating outward from the scar document wound contraction similar to that seen in modern injuries. This is the first unequivocal report of dinosaur tissue response to dermal pathology and evidences...

Erosive osteoarthritis is a term utilized to describe a specific inflammatory condition of the interphalangeal and first carpal metacarpal joints of the hands. The term has become a part of medical philosophical semantics and paradigms, but the issue is actually more complicated. Even the term osteoarthritis (non-erosive) has been controversial, wi...

Temnospondyls, the largest group of Palaeozoic and Mesozoic amphibians, primitively possess rhachitomous vertebrae with multipartite centra (consisting of one horse-shoe-shaped inter- and paired pleurocentra). In a group of temnospondyls, the stereospondyls, the intercentra became pronounced and disc-like, whereas the pleurocentra were reduced. We...

Perspectives are in the eye of the beholder and are expanded with increased scrutiny (e.g., magnification). The term "porosity' for macroscopically or radiologically identifiable discontinuity in bone is so variably applied as to be incomprehensible in its meanings. A closer examination of surface discontinuity seems appropriate. Histological and a...

Late Pleistocene Eurasian steppe lions Panthera leo spelaea (Goldfuss, 1810) frequently (3 of 13) have skull damage attributable to bites. Such evidence is found only in lions from hyena or cave bear dens. Wounds on frontal and parietal bones appear to be the result of battles during cave bear hunts, by antagonistic conflicts with hyenas, and less...

Tracing the evolution of ancient diseases depends on the availability and accessibility of suitable biomarkers in archaeological specimens. DNA is potentially information-rich but it depends on a favourable environment for preservation. In the case of the major mycobacterial pathogens, Mycobacterium tuberculosis and Mycobacterium leprae, robust lip...

This is a comment on Hayman's Deep Diving Dinosaurs (Naturwissenschaften, in press, 2012).

Osteoarthritis is extremely rare in wild mammal populations (less than 1%) and varies in frequency according to species (0–25%) in recent birds, where it is inversely related to size. Large population samples of Early Cretaceous birds in China permit us to analyze its frequency in one of the earliest avian radiations. In these samples, the larger b...

Decompression syndrome (caisson disease or the "the bends") resulting in avascular necrosis has been documented in mosasaurs, sauropterygians, ichthyosaurs, and turtles from the Middle Jurassic to Late Cretaceous, but it was unclear that this disease occurred as far back as the Triassic. We have examined a large Triassic sample of ichthyosaurs and...

This study reports the results of a de novo classification and characterization of macroscopically perceiv-able bone alterations relating to the pathologic significance of rib alterations as noted in defleshed bones. We distinguish between nonspecific two-dimensional color alterations and three-dimensional surface modification which appears to have...

Recognition of macroscopic rib pathology requires an in-depth understanding of anatomy, especially of the attachment of muscle tendons and aponeuroses. Distinguishing periosteal reaction from residual aponeurotic tissues and the rugosity associated with muscle attachments, requires knowledge of these structures. The ribs of twenty cadavers were exa...

Paget disease of bone - initially described by Sir James Paget in 1876 - is a benign bone disorder well known in human pathology. It leads to the enlargement and deformity of bones due to a combination of abnormal bone resorption and abundant new bone formation [1-3]. There is strong evidence that viruses are involved in the disease, coupled with a...

As paleopathology has evolved from observational speculation to analysis of testable hypotheses, so too has recognition of its contribution to vertebrate paleontology. In the presence of significant structural and density variation (between matrix and osseous structures), x-rays provide an additional perspective of osseous response to stress and di...

This study was conducted to assess the feasibility of COX1 NSAID substitution for aspirin for preventative therapy related to circulating anticoagulants, as manifest by inhibition of platelet aggregation. There was no difference in platelet aggregation inhibition between aspirin, naproxen, ketoprofen or diclofenac and misoprostol (in combination in...

This study was conducted to test several hypotheses: 1. That rheumatoid arthritis and syphilis were New World diseases, only transmitted to the Old World subsequent to the passages of Christopher Columbus; 2. To indirectly test the hypothesis that lead poisoning was prevalent in Roman Italy by looking for its byproduct, gout; 3. To test the hypothe...

Noninvasive measurements are fast gaining importance in every clinical discipline. Noninvasive acceleration measurements of physiological vibrations may aid in clinical diagnosis and quantitative assessment of various diseases. In the discipline of rehabilitation medicine, Reddy et al [1–4] have developed and clinically evaluated the techniques of...

In bioarchaeology, skeletal biology and paleopathology, periosteal reaction has been variably considered as a non-specific sign of trauma and alternatively as having potentially diagnostic implications. Examination of sixth millennium before present Texas cemeteries falsifies the non-specific trauma hypothesis, while examination of a second millenn...

The objective of this study is to document a series of cases of occupationally derived autoimmune disease. Individuals with occupational exposure to acrylamides were evaluated clinically and biochemically/immunologically for evidence of autoimmune disease. Symptoms and signs and immuno-reactivity were monitored during exposure-free and re-exposure...

To the Editor: Olech and colleagues note that erosions are commonly found in metacarpal phalangeal and wrist joints of “healthy subjects”1 and “healthy employees”2. Olech, et al 2 report observation of “erosion-like lesions” on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of 26 of 40 (65%) healthy employees of the Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation (Oklaho...

Identification of postcranial reptile pathology unrelated to trauma on the basis of macroscopic (visual) examination is feasible and effective, as previously documented in mammals, birds, and dinosaurs. Such bone disease is rare in most wild-caught lizards, with the exception of Varanids, and is also more common in crocodilians. This provides a bas...

To the Editor: Patient safety should be paramount in resident education. As noted by Iglehart1, mindful action by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) has led to substantial reduction in and limitation of resident service and education activities. That group has now made further recommendations2 to reduce fatigue and i...

Though the history of disease has an evolutionary history in itself, this history of pathologies, which are physical manifestations of immune responses to disease processes, has a history that is intimately linked to the history of the host organisms themselves. But many of these physical manifestations of an organism's response to disease are rela...

Blinded. Examination of a new radiologic interpretation technique for distinguishing osteoporotic fractures from Scheuermann disease. STUDY OF BACKGROUND DATA: Osteoporotic vertebral fractures are a major clinical problem. A variety of empirically-derived standards have been suggested for their recognition, but the accepted limits for normal variat...

The presence of the diseases yaws and bejel are indicated by periosteal reaction patterns. The distributions of these two diseases in ancient North American human populations show evidence of climatic influence. Those ancient populations lacking either yaws or bejel (the null periosteal reaction pattern) can be found in the coldest parts of the Col...

As the study of bone disease in recent and fossil amphibians and reptiles has evolved from observational speculation to analysis of testable hypotheses, so too has recognition of its contribution to our understanding of diseases and organisms. Given the development of a 'library' of macroscopic osseous manifestations of a variety of diseases, the p...

Whales repetitively dive deep to feed and should be susceptible to decompression syndrome, though they are not known to suffer the associated pathologies. Avascular osteonecrosis has been recognized as an indicator of diving habits of extinct marine amniotes. Vertebrae of 331 individual modern and 996 fossil whales were subjected to macroscopic and...

We report the first known example of spontaneous, naturally occurring fibrodysplasia ossificans progressiva (FOP) in a mammal. The Southeast Asian mouse deer of the genus _Tragulus_ (Artiodactyla: Tragulidae) have an osseous sheath covering the lower back and upper thigh region consistent with the clinical definition of FOP. This heterotophic bone...

Calcium pyrophosphate deposition (CPPD) disease is confirmed as equally common in rheumatoid arthritis by synovial fluid and macroscopic skeletal examination. Furthermore, differential frequencies in rheumatoid arthritis and spondyloarthropathy provide additional insights to the "lumper-splitter" question.

Aim: To assess if acromioclavicular and sternoclavicular joint findings share specificity with those of peripheral joints for distinguishing among the major forms of erosive arthritis. Methods: The clavicles from skeletons of 392 individuals with documented spondyloarthropathy, rheumatoid arthritis and calcium pyrophosphate deposition disease (CPDD...

This systematic survey of museum ratite (Pterocnemia, Rhea, Casuarius, Struthio, Dromias and Apteryx) skeletal collections was performed to reevaluate previous perspectives and assess effect of captivity on macroscopically detectable pathology. Trauma-related pathology (e.g. focal periosteal reaction, malformed vertebrae) was significantly more com...

A descriptive study of the association between sacroiliac joint (extra-articular) bridging and other enthesopathies. To examine the relationship between sacroiliac joint bridging with other entheseal reaction sites in the skeleton, and its prognostic value in spinal diseases. Sacroiliac joint bridging is considered a hallmark of spinal diseases (e....

Data on the prevalence of bone cancer in dinosaurs is available from past radiological examination of preserved bones. We statistically test this data for consistency with rates extrapolated from information on bone cancer in modern vertebrates, and find that there is no evidence of a different rate. Thus, this test provides no support for a possib...

Orientation of the lumbar articular facets at the L1-L5 level was measured and analyzed. To characterize the relationship between lumbar facet orientation and isthmic spondylolysis. Whereas many studies have explored the relationship between facet orientation in the transverse plane and various spinal pathologies, there is insufficient data regardi...

Spondyloarthropathy is a painful arthritic affliction of humans that also occurs in wild mammals. Important questions remain concerning the underlying causes of spondyloarthropathy in mammals, particularly regarding whether it is infectious in origin or driven by genetic predisposition and environmental stressors. Moreover, spondyloarthropathy has...

This study was performed to assess osseous contributions to osteoarthritis, obviating the analysis challenges presented by confounding factors in humans and rarity of osteoarthritis in free-ranging mammals. Frequency of osteoarthritis in 21 bird species was examined and contrasted with measures of afflicted element bone stiffness and strength and c...

The hypothesis of disease-related large mammal extinction has new support. A unique pathologic zone of resorption was first noticed in a Hiscock Mammut americanum metacarpal. The pathognomonic zone of resorption was present in fifty-nine (52%) of 113 skeletons with feet available for examination. Metacarpals and metatarsals were most commonly affec...

Pathognomonic metacarpal undermining is a skeletal pathology that has been associated with Mycobacterium tuberculosis in bovids. Postcranial artiodactyl, perissodactyl, and carnivore skeletons were examined in major university and museum collections of North America and Europe for evidence of this and other pathology potentially attributable to tub...

Bejel clearly has a long history in the Middle East and the Sudan, but was it transmitted to Europe? As the major manifestation of bejel is presence of periosteal reaction in 20-40% of afflicted populations, absence of significant population frequency of periosteal reaction in Europe would exclude that diagnosis. Examination of skeletal populations...

The purpose of this study was to assess birds as a potential model for osteoarthritis. Compromised by confounding factors, it has not been possible to clearly delineate causation in humans. Nonhuman mammals manifest osteoarthritis in the natural state too rarely for comparative study. Artificial environments (of captive animals) are associated with...

Actinomycosis, originally classified as a fungus, is now considered a branching bacteria. Although jaw involvement often presents with classic pathognomonic signs, postcranial disease has not been so characterized. Affected bones from individuals diagnosed in life with actinomycosis were macroscopically and radiologically examined for their macrosc...

The photograph of the Northern flicker Colaptes auratus by Anderson Renick, Jr, MD, adorning the April 25, 2005, cover of the Archives of Internal Medicine illustrates a species apparently unique pathologically among woodpeckers. A survey of woodpeckers (exclusive of the elusive ivory-billed Campephilus principalis) revealed that 10% of Northern fl...

Spondyloarthropathy is the term applied to a form of arthritis with sentinel alteration of the spine, in the form of syndesmophytes and zygapophyseal joint erosions.1–3 Although a single zygapophyseal joint can be damaged by pyogenic or rarely by a granulomatous infection, the only known cause of multiple zygapophyseal joint erosions is spondyloart...

Recognition of decompression syndrome-related pathology (in the form of avascular necrosis) reveals diving behaviour in mosasaurs. Macroscopic and radiologic examination was performed to identify linear bone death characteristic of avascular necrosis in vertebrae from the major North American and European collections. This survey of mosasaurs exten...

Shark bite marks on mosasaur bones abound in the fossil record. Here we review examples from Kansas (USA) and the Maastrichtian type area (SE Netherlands, NE Belgium), and discuss whether they represent scavenging and/or predation. Some bite marks are most likely the result of scavenging. On the other hand, evidence of healing and the presence of a...

A descriptive study of the association between sacroiliac joint bridging (SIB) and age, gender, laterality, and ethnic origin in a normal skeletal population. The effectiveness of radiographs in identifying SIB was also evaluated. To characterize the phenomenon of SIB demographically and anatomically and to evaluate the validity of diagnosis based...

Systematic survey of mammalian skeletons has revealed patterns of disease reproducible over geologic time. Systematic examination of non-passerine bird skeletons also reveals patterns of disease and identifies those disorders amenable to epidemiologic assessment. Neoplasia, infection, osteochondromatosis and gout are extremely rare, precluding phyl...

The character of arthritis has not received the same attention in Pan paniscus as it has in P. troglodytes. Reactive arthritis (a form of spondyloarthropathy) in the latter has been considered to be either a sexually transmitted or an infectious-agent diarrhea-related disorder. The unique sexual promiscuity of P. paniscus enables us to distinguish...

Gorilla gorilla and the less-studied G. beringei occupy very different, geographically separate habitats. We studied the occurrence of various forms of arthritis to examine possible nature/nurture causality. The macerated skeletons of 38 G. beringei and 99 G. gorilla individuals were examined macroscopically for the presence of articular and osseou...

Thoracolumbar facet and interfacet linear dimensions were measured and analyzed. To characterize and analyze the thoracolumbar facet and interfacet size and shape in relation to gender, ethnic group, and age and to detect the extent of normal facet tropism along the thoracolumbar spine. Knowledge on facet tropism and interfacet shape is limited in...

Spondyloarthropathy is a common occurrence in Old World primates, with only limited presence in New World monkeys. Clearly distinguished from rheumatoid arthritis, this erosive arthritis afflicts 20% of great apes, baboons, and rhesus macaques and had been increasing in frequency. Habitat-dependent infectious agent diarrhea-induced reactive arthrit...

The history of syphilis is one of irresponsibility, mythology and more recently, scientific insight. Pseudo-Descartian (defined as 'I think, therefore I publish') mythology has until now precluded any cogent discussion of where the disease originated and who was responsible for its spread. Evidence-based research now allows clear separation of syph...

Evidence-based research now allows clear separation of syphilis from other diseases in its class of treponematoses. Examination of skeletons from populations with clinically diagnosed bejel and yaws revealed bone alterations distinctive to those diseases, clearly separating them from alterations due to syphilis, transcending the limitations of curr...

Tuberculosis is regaining medical importance in most recent times due to e.g. its increase in prevalence. For paleopathologist, osseous tuberculosis is often familiar as spinal or joint affecting disease. Rarely, skull lesions are described. In this paper we briefly highlight some unique aspects of human osseous tuberculosis of the cranium and post...

Arthritis is one of the leading causes of disability and affects a major segment of the population. Consequently, accurate diagnosis of arthritis is important. Arthritis due to calcium pyrophosphate deposition disease (CPPD), rheumatoid arthritis, and spondyloarthropathy, induce complex changes in the cartilage and the articular surface. The fracta...

To assess diagnostic implications of abnormalities of the pedal digital tufts and to identify features to facilitate distinguishing of spondyloarthropathy and leprosy. Better criteria for distinguishing between these disorders are necessary if their character, natural history, and evolution are to be understood. Pedal x rays of 91 consecutive patie...

Tendency to afflict one part of the skeleton, rather than another, could be referred to as the osseotropism of the disease. That term would also include which part of the particular bone was affected. That, in addition to characteristics of erosions facilitates distinguishing spondyloarthropathy from rheumatoid arthritis, calcium pyrophosphate depo...