John B. Gregg

Exostoses in the External Auditory Canals

Hrdlicka17 compiled an exhaustive resume of the literature pertaining to exostoses in the outer ear canals and presented his findings after examining 7,814 skulls, some of which were found in South and North Dakota. Subsequent studies concerning exostoses, their incidence, location, type, and theories as to origin have been presented.1,3 .6 .8 ,1l ,13. 15,18,21,23,24,27 We propose to report here the evaluation of a large group of Indian skulls originating from burials in the same region of the Dakotas as the specimens examined by Hrdlicka, to analyze findings which do not correlate with his, and to present illustrations of four structurally different ear canal exostoses.

Ante-Mortem Osteopathology At Crow Creek

In the mid-fourteenth century/ over 486 individuals apparently were massacred at the Crow Creek Site (39 BF 11), located on the east bank of the Missouri River in South Dakota. During the analysis of the skeletons, a search was made for evidence of diseases, anomalies, and abnormalities which had affected these people during life and had left an imprint upon their bones. The salient pathology is tabulated here, discussed briefly, and illustrated. Because these people had apparently lived and died together in a pre-White contact Initial Coalescent variant village and were probably ancestral to the Arikara, data obtained from this study could provide valuable baseline information for comparison with other studies in paleopathology from the Dakotas.

Anomalous fusion of the malleus to the tympanic ring.

Careful examination with magnification and intense illumination failed to demonstrate a point of cleavage or articulation with the tympanic ring, but rather a smooth fusion was found. The malleus was also found to be fused to the tympanic ring anteriorly and superiorly by what appeared to represent an ossification of the anterior malleolar ligament. The incus found in the middle ear was not fused to the malleus, but rather was loose in the cavity. The stapes was in the oval window, loosely retained by debris. The epitympanum contained no areas of malleolar head fixation; a probe was passed freely on all sides of the malleus. In the study of the developmental anatomy of the temporal bone of man, various morphogenic movements have been shown to be of importance. Among these is the migration of the entoderm of the first pharyngeal pouch into the mesenchyme lateral to the otic capsule, to become the mucosa of the middle ear. As the first pharyngeal pouch expands to oppose the ectoderm of the first branchial cleft, the mesenchyme thins out to become the fibrous layer of the tympanic membrane.t!

Ancient Osteopathology from the Caddoan Burials at the Kaufman-Williams Site, Texas

Osteopathological analysis of the Caddoan skeletal remains from the Kaufman-Williams site (41RR16), Red River County, Texas, suggests that the most serious problems afflicting the people (as reflected in their re mains) were degenerative conditions, such as osteo phytosis and osteoarthritis, and dental wear and disease. As would be expected, these problems became more severe with increasing age. With the exception of one congenital hip dislocation, the congenital and developmental anomalies noted on the skeletal material, although quite numerous, would have caused little or no problem for the individuals who had them. Several traumatic lesions occurred in the population; more were noted on male than on female skeletons. The only neoplasms observed were benign and consisted princi pally of button osteomas. Eight probable cases of iron deficiency anemia were noted. Two subadults were af flicted with porotic hyperostosis; six skeletons exhibited cribra orbitalia. Comparison with osteopathological data from other Caddoan sites suggests a fairly high level of adaptive efficiency among the Caddo Indians.

Ancient Temporal Bone Osteopathology

Few isolated specimens or series of temporal bone abnormalities from antiquity are reported from North America. Infections were in the past and are today the most common otologic problems. Differentiating infectious disease residua from other causes of osteopathology has proven difficult for some not conversant with disease pathophysiology. During clinical experience spanning five decades and research involving several thousand aboriginal skeletons, data relating to temporal bone disease were accumulated. As a didactic exercise, findings in 18 illustrative temporal bones encountered during research are presented and discussed briefly.

THIRTY-FIVE YEARS OF UPPER MISSOURI RIVER BASIN PALEOPATHOLOGY

El proyecto Huesos Mojados consistia en las evaluaciones de hablar/escuchar a y con los nativos de Norteamerica. El proyecto Huesos Secos consistia en estudios conducidos en los huesos recuperados de la region. Durante 35 anos, examinamos los restos esqueletales que representan varias culturas diferentes que vivian en el Territorio Dakota durante 2000 anos. Un factor que mejora la paleopatologia en esta region eran los proyectos arqueologicos de rescate conducidos antes de cerrar las represas que cruzan el Rio Missouri en Dakota del Sur. Las condiciones climaticas no eran favorables para momificacion, asi que el estudio fue limitado a los huesos. En 1966, participamos en y recibimos mucho estimulo del simposio de paleopatologia en la Fundacion Nacional de Ciencia. En 1977, T.A. Cockburn cuestiono si la mastoiditis y sus complicaciones existian en los Estados Unidos, y eso estimulo nuestro entusiasmo. Los resultados del proyecto Huesos Secos son el tema de este trabajo

Erosion of the supraorbital plate

An eroded lesion in the supraorbital plate in a South Dakota Indian from Larson site (39WW2, ca. AD 1785) is described. It is postulated to have been a benign tumor of the lacrimal gland.

LXI. The Prognosis of the Tuberculous Larynx

The subject of tuberculosis of the larynx is of vital importance to the laryngologist, due to its common occurrence, to the great desire .to alleviate the conditions imposed by the disease, and to its influence on the prognosis of pulmonary tuberculosis, which is always rendered more grave by the presence of a laryngeal involvement. The relative frequency of the laryngeal complication of pulmonary tuberculosis necessitates very careful study and well directed effort, in order that the system may be relieved of this additional lesion and thereby enabled to better carryon its battles with the main source of infection in the lungs or elsewhere. In all cases of pulmonary tuberculosis early and frequently repeated laryngeal examinations should be made by a skilled laryngologist. This results in the discovery of many cases of incipient laryngeal involvement at a time when proper treatment will be most beneficial to the larynx. Not infrequently we have patients come to us because of the laryngeal condition who have had no symptoms indicating a pulmonary lesion. In but a few cases the diagnosis of tuberculosis of the larynx is made before anv demonstrable lesion elsewhere can be found. One such patient had <l definite tuberculous larynx, demonstrated by microscopic examination of a section, two years before the internist could find involvement elsewhere. Although laryngeal tuberculosis is most frequently coexistent with or complicates pulmonary tuberculosis, yet Orth, Demme, Frankel, Prog~binisky, Manasse and Steiner have each reported one case of primary tuberculosis where postmortem findings have substantiated the clinical diagnosis. Per-