Objective

This study aims to place trepanation in a medieval therapeutic context by addressing its medical use in neurological disorders and by testing the existence of particular dietary care for the sick.

Materials

Six cases of trepanation found at the St. Cosme priory (La Riche, France) dated from the 12th-15th centuries.

Methods

Neurological health was explored by geometric morphometrics by comparing the six cases to 68 skulls and 67 endocraniums belonging to individuals from the same period and geographical area. Trepanned diet was investigated by carbon and nitrogen isotopes and compared to 49 individuals from the same site.

Results

The study of shapes suggests a possible pathological state for four subjects. The diet of the trepanned is not different from the rest of the population.

Conclusions

The treatment of neurological disorders emerges as the main therapeutic motivation in the corpus, contrary to the reports from the ancient surgical treatises. A specific diet for the sick is not highlighted.

Significance

Geometric morphometrics is rarely used in paleopathology and the results suggest a potential of this type of analysis in the identification of pathological cases. The results on therapeutic motivations and diet do not fit the descriptions from ancient medical sources.

Limitations

The study of forms did not lead to definitive diagnosis. The isotopic study does not allow us to appreciate all the aspects of the diet.

Suggestions for Further Research

: A geometric morphometric study of the skulls and endocraniums of individuals with a known neurological condition would allow a better appreciation of the link between shapes and pathologies.

中文翻译：

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法国 12 至 15 世纪圣科斯梅修道院钻孔的 3D 重新评估

客观的

本研究旨在通过解决其在神经系统疾病中的医疗用途并测试对病人进行特殊饮食护理的存在，将环切术置于中世纪的治疗环境中。

材料

在 St. Cosme 修道院（法国 La Riche）发现的 6 个钻孔案例可以追溯到 12-15 世纪。

方法

通过将 6 个病例与来自同一时期和地理区域的个体的 68 个头骨和 67 个颅骨进行比较，几何形态测量学探索了神经系统健康。环钻饮食通过碳和氮同位素进行了研究，并与来自同一地点的 49 个人进行了比较。

结果

对形状的研究表明四名受试者可能处于病理状态。环钻人的饮食与其他人群没有什么不同。

结论

与古代外科论文的报道相反，神经系统疾病的治疗成为语料库中的主要治疗动机。没有强调病人的特定饮食。

意义

几何形态计量学很少用于古病理学，结果表明这种类型的分析在识别病理病例方面具有潜力。关于治疗动机和饮食的结果与古代医学文献的描述不符。

限制

对形式的研究并没有导致明确的诊断。同位素研究不允许我们了解饮食的所有方面。

进一步研究的建议

：对已知神经系统疾病个体的头骨和颅骨进行几何形态测量研究，可以更好地了解形状和病理之间的联系。