CYSTICERCOSIS IN AN EGYPTIAN MUMMY OF THE LATE PTOLEMAIC PERIOD

HOME

HELP

FEEDBACK

SUBSCRIPTIONS

SHORT REPORT

CYSTICERCOSIS IN AN EGYPTIAN MUMMY OF THE LATE PTOLEMAIC PERIOD

FABRIZIO BRUSCHI^*, MASSIMO MASETTI, MARIA TERESA LOCCI, ROSALBA CIRANNI, AND GINO FORNACIARI
Department of Experimental Pathology, Department of Ethology,Ecology ed Evolution, Department of Oncology, Transplants andAdvanced Technologies in Medicine, Section of History of Medicineand Paleopathology, University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy

ABSTRACT

We describe here an ancient case of cysticercosis that was discoveredin an Egyptian mummy of a young woman of about 20 years of agewho lived in the late Ptolemaic period (second to first centuriesB.C.). On removal of the stomach and its rehydration, a cysticlesion in the stomach wall was observed by naked eye. Microscopicalexamination of sections of this lesion revealed a cystic structure,with a wall, with numerous projecting eversions, a characteristicfeature of the larval stage (cysticercus) of the human tapewormTaenia solium (or "pig tapeworm"). Immunohistochemical testingwith serum from a T. solium–infected human confirmed theidentity of the cyst. This finding is the oldest on record ofthe antiquity of this zoonotic parasite. This observation alsoconfirms that, in Hellenistic Egypt, the farming of swine, alongwith man an intermediate host of this parasite, was present,and supports other archeological evidence.

Received July 8, 2005. Accepted for publication November 6, 2005.

Acknowledgments: The authors are indebted to K. D. Murrell forhis careful review of the manuscript and valuable suggestionsand to S. Mazzoni for technical assistance in immunohistochemistrypreparations.

^* Address correspondence to Fabrizio Bruschi, Department of ExperimentalPathology, Via Roma 55, 56126 Pisa, Italy. E-mail: fbruschi{at}med.unipi.it

Authors’ addresses: Fabrizio Bruschi, Department of ExperimentalPathology, Via Roma 55, 56126 Pisa, Italy, Telephone: +39(050)2218547,Fax: +39(050)2218557, E-mail: fbruschi{at}med.unipi.it. MassimoMasetti, Department of Ethology, Ecology and Evolution, ViaVolta, 4-6, 56126 Pisa, Italy, Telephone: +39(050)2219079, Fax:+39(050)24653, E-mail: masettim{at}deee.unipi.it. Maria TeresaLocci, Department of Experimental Pathology, Via Roma 55, 56126Pisa, Italy, Telephone: +39(050)2218552, Fax: +39(050)2218557,E-mail: mtloc{at}biomed.unipi.it. Rosalba Ciranni, Department ofOncology, Transplants and Advanced Technologies in Medicine,Section of History of Medicine and Paleopathology, Universityof Pisa, Via Roma 57, 56126 Pisa, Italy, Telephone: +39(050)992994,Fax: +39(050)992706, E-mail: r.ciranni{at}do.med.unipi.it. GinoFornaciari, Department of Oncology, Transplants and AdvancedTechnologies in Medicine, Section of History of Medicine andPaleopathology, University of Pisa, Via Roma 57, 56126 Pisa,Italy, Telephone: +39(050) 992894, Fax: +39(050) 992706, E-mail:g.fornaciari{at}med.unipi.it.

Reprint requests: Fabrizio Bruschi, Department of ExperimentalPathology, Via Roma 55, 56126 Pisa, Italy, Telephone: +39(050)2218547, Fax: +39(050)2218557, E-mail: fbruschi{at}med.unipi.it.