Abstract
IT has been clearly established in mummified and other dried human material that the connective tissues are frequently well preserved while the epithelia are less-often recognizable1,2. This is probably a reflexion of relative susceptibility to any autolysis which may precede effective desiccation. Neurovascular bundles are readily recognized in some Egyptian mummies and in dried bodies from other ancient cultures; for this reason direct study of vascular disease in antiquity is possible1,3,4. Nevertheless, desiccation produces considerable distortion of blood vessels, and interpretation of changes and elimination of artefact is greatly aided by delineation of elastic fibres, which are valuable landmarks in vessel structure.
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References
Ruffer, M. A., Studies in the Palceopathology of Egypt (Univ. Chicago Press, 1921).
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Long, A. R., Arch. Path. (Chicago), 12, 92 (1931).
Sandison, A. T., Med. Hist., 6, 77 (1962).
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SANDISON, A. Staining of Vascular Elastic Fibres in Mummified and Dried Human Tissues. Nature 198, 597 (1963). https://doi.org/10.1038/198597a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/198597a0
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