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M R Zimmerman

Publications and source records attributed to M R Zimmerman.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1998

Brief communication: twentieth-century replication of an Egyptian mummy: implications for paleopathology.

Replication in a modern human cadaver of ancient Egyptian mummification focused on tools used by ancient Egyptian embalmers, the use of natron (a mixture of sodium carbonate, bicarbonate, and chloride) in the preparation of the mummy, surgical procedures in the removal of the viscera and brain, and histologic examination of the viscera. The first three areas have been reported separately (Brier and Wade [1997] ZAS 124:89-100). In this paper, we demonstrate a degree of histologic preservation comparable to that seen in Egyptian mummies, indicating the effectiveness of ancient mummification and that the histologic appearance of such mummies is little altered by the passage of millennia.

Aged↗
PubMed1997

Protein oxidation of a hair sample kept in Alaskan ice for 800-1000 years.

Ancient finds of organic matter are not only of the highest value for palaeochemists and palaeobiologists but can be used to determine basic chemical reactions, such as protein oxidation, over long time periods. We studied oxidation of human hair protein about one thousand years old of an Alaskan child buried in ice, ten hair samples of copts of comparable age buried in graves of hot dry sand and compared the results to ten recent hair samples. Protein oxidation parameters o-tyrosine and cysteic acid of the Alaskan child were comparable to recent samples whereas they were higher in the coptic specimen. N-epsilon-carboxymethyllysine, a parameter for glycoxidation, however, was as high in coptic specimen. We conclude that ice in contrast to soil prevented protein oxidation but failed to inhibit glycoxidation, a reaction initiated by autooxidation of glucose. This study therefore has implications for the interpretation of oxidation and glycoxidation as well as preservation mechanisms of proteins.

Alaska↗
PubMed1993

The paleopathology of the cardiovascular system.

Paleopathology, the study of disease in ancient remains, adds the dimension of time to our study of health and disease. The oldest preserved heart is from a mummified rabbit of the Pleistocene epoch, over 20,000 years old. Cardiovascular disease has been identified in human mummies from Alaska and Egypt, covering a time span ranging from approximately 3,000 to 300 years ago. An experimental study suggests that the potential exists for identifying a wide range of cardiovascular pathologic conditions in mummified remains. The antiquity and ubiquity of arteriosclerotic heart disease is considered in terms of pathogenesis.

Alaska↗
PubMed1984

Thermally induced bone necrosis in rabbits. Relation to implant failure in humans.

The exposure of bone to high temperatures has become quite common, especially with the increasing use of polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) bone cement. With particular regard to total hip arthroplasty, many authors have commented on the temperature problem induced by the curing PMMA cement mass. Polymerization temperatures at the bone-cement interface have been measured and range between 40 degrees and 110 degrees, depending on the thickness of the cement line. Thermal bone damage is implicated as a significant cause of early loosening of implanted joint prostheses. The authors designed a fluid probe to deliver heated isotonic fluid directly over exposed cortical bone on a rabbit's proximal tibia. Scald temperatures ranged from 45 degrees-90 degrees for a standard exposure time of one minute. Bone tissue samples taken at intervals of one, two, and three weeks postoperatively were used to establish the thermal-damage threshold for living bone and assess regeneration potential. Controls were included to observe the reaction of bone to the surgical procedure. Bone necrosis was consistently seen in histologic sections at scald temperatures greater than or equal to 70 degrees. Although an inflammatory reaction replaced by a fibrous tissue scar was seen at the site of surgically damaged periosteum, no control animals showed evidence of either bone or marrow necrosis. These results led the authors to suggest that joint replacement systems in human bone, using PMMA bone cement, be designed to limit intraoperative temperature maximums to a level less than 70 degrees. By preventing excessive bone necrosis at the bone-cement interface, early loosening and subsequent implant failure may be significantly reduced.

Animals↗
PubMed1982

Trauma among the Shanidar Neandertals.

Four of the adult Neandertals from Shanidar Cave, Iraq, Shanidar 1, 3, 4, and 5, show evidence of antemortem trauma. Shanidar 1 sustained injuries to the right frontal squama, the left lateral orbit, the right humerus and right fifth metatarsal. Associated with this trauma are hypoplasia or atrophy of the right clavicle, scapula, and humerus, osteomyelitis of the right clavicle, degenerative joint disease at the right knee, ankle, and first tarsometatarsal joint, and remodeling of the left tibia. Shanidar 3 experienced trauma-related degenerative joint disease at the right talocrural and talocalcaneal joints and sustained a penetrating wound across the left ninth rib. Shanidar 4 suffered a fracture of the right seventh or eighth rib, and Shanidar 5 had a scalp wound over the left frontal. A high frequency of antemortem trauma associated with the survival of the injured individuals appears to have been characteristic of the Neandertals.

Adult↗
PubMed1981

A possible histiocytoma in an Egyptian mummy.

This report concerns the finding of a possible histiocytoma in the skin of the heel of an Egyptian mummy. Only two other neoplasms have been diagnosed microscopically in ancient material-a squamous papilloma of the hand in an Egyptian mummy and possible malignant melanomas in several Peruvian mummies. No visceral tumors have ever been identified in mummies, and only a few possible neoplasms have been detected on gross examination of skeletal material. The satisfactory preservation of cutaneous histologic and pathologic features in mummies should encourage the performance of additional studies.

Egypt, Ancient↗
PubMed1981

The paleopathology of an Aleutian mummy.

A multidisciplinary team examined an Aleutian mummy from the collection of the Peabody Museum of Archeology and Ethnology of Harvard University, Cambridge, Mass. The mummy, dating from the early 18th century, was of a middle-aged woman who had suffered from pulmonary and ear infections, atherosclerosis, pediculosis, and degenerative joint disease. Another finding was anthracosis, common in ancient bodies and related to indoor heating and cooking fires. Skeletal lead was not found, in contrast with the high levels seen in modern persons. No neoplasms were identified, again consistent with the results of previous studies of ancient human remains. Such comparisons of ancient and modern morbidity and mortality provide a historical perspective on the evolution and cause of human disease.

Alaska↗