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Biomedical subjects

M R Zimmerman

Publications and source records attributed to M R Zimmerman.

7 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1978

Age determination of an Alaskan mummy: morphological and biochemical correlation.

Aspartic acid racemization analysis of a tooth from an Alaskan mummy yielded an age at death of 53 (+/- 5) years, which correlates well with earlier estimates based on morphological features. This study illustrates the value of integrative approaches to paleopathologic problems and the importance of preserving rare specimens for the application of new techniques.

Aspartic Acid↗
PubMed1977

An experimental study of mummification pertinent to the antiquity of cancer.

The relatively recent description in scientific literature of many types of cancer suggests their infrequency until the relatively recent past, a view supported by the paucity of diagnoses of malignancies in ancient remains. While overall life span was short in antiquity, many individuals did live to the "cancer age," as there is ample evidence of a variety of degenerative disorders. It has been suggested that tumors are not well enough preserved for diagnosis, and tumors experimentally mummified and rehydrated were evaluated as to their preservation. It was found that cancers were actually better preserved than normal tissues. The absence of tumors in ancient tissues must be considered a reflection of a markedly lower incidence than in the modern population of the Lnited States, in which cancer accounts for approximately 17% of all deaths. It is suggested that this increase in cancer is due to factors in the modern industrialized environment.

Adult↗
PubMed1976

Histologic structures preserved for 21,300 years.

Histologic examination of rehydrated tissue samples from late Pleistocene (Alaskan) mammal mummies demonstrates that the preservative effect of freezing and drying extends to remains 15,000 to 25,000 years old. Some muscle and liver tissue retained identifiable histologic structures. Most tissues were completely disintegrated and partly replaced by masses of bacteria, an indication of considerable postmortem decay before the remains were entombed beneath the permafrost zone.

Animals↗
PubMed1976

A possible case of subcorneal pustular dermatosis in an Egyptian mummy.

Examination of the mummy of an Egyptian who died in 892 BC +/- 53 years showed the skin to be well preserved, with inguinal subcorneal vesicles of the type seen in subcorneal pustular dermatosis. This condition apparently antedates by almost three millenia its description as a clinicopathological entity by Sneddon and Wilkinson in 1956.

Egypt, Ancient↗