(ORDO NEWS) — In Poland, researchers from the University of Warsaw scanned the mummy of an ancient Egyptian woman. As a result, they found suspected traces of cancer, a disease that had long been considered relatively modern.
The discovery is reported by Nauka w Polsce. The results of the study provide additional evidence that cancer was common even in ancient times.
The fact is that a few decades ago this disease was considered relatively modern. But in recent years, traces of this terrible disease are increasingly found in the study of the remains of ancient people.
In this case, an ancient Egyptian mummy, which is stored in the Gallery of Ancient Art of the National Museum in Warsaw, underwent a CT scan. It came to Poland in the 19th century.
The mummy belongs to a woman who lived more than 2,000 years ago. The scan showed that she suffered from nasopharyngeal cancer.
It is noteworthy that until 2016 this mummy was attributed to a male priest of Khor Dzhehuti. But the first scan done on this mummy proved that the remains belonged to a woman.
The mummy is very fragile, so for a long time scientists carried out only a visual inspection. The use of a tomograph made it possible to literally look under the bandages.
In addition, the researchers created a 3D model based on the obtained images, and then printed the skeleton using a 3D printer. In the course of its study, scientists drew attention to large defects on the facial bones.
They turned out to be much larger than those that are usually formed during mummification (the brain was removed from the skull of the mummified through the nose).
Archaeologists asked for help from specialists from the oncology clinic of the Warsaw Medical University, who diagnosed the Egyptian woman with cancer.
This, firstly, is indicated by atypical changes in the bones of the nasopharynx, which are not characteristic of the mummification process.
Secondly, the conclusions of radiologists, based on computed tomography, point to the “possibility of changes in the bones due to neoplastic causes.”
This version is also supported by the fact that the woman died at a young age, and previous studies did not reveal any injuries or other diseases in her that could cause her death.
Scientists will make a final diagnosis only after laboratory analysis of samples. But now they say that with a high degree of probability, the cause of death was an oncological disease.
—
Online:
Contact us: [email protected]
Our Standards, Terms of Use: Standard Terms And Conditions.