Scheuermann's disease in a juvenile male from the late Roman necropolis of Torrenueva (3rd-4th century CE, Granada, Spain).

This study details a severe case of Scheuermann's disease (SD) in a well-preserved skeleton of a juvenile male (designated TOR302), dated to 3rd-4th century CE, from the late Roman necropolis of Torrenueva (Granada, Spain). Individual TOR302 shows an evident kyphotic curve in the thoraco-lumbar spine, which is characterised by: (i) vertebral bodies of thoracic vertebra T2, thoracic segment T4-T9, and thoraco-lumbar segment T12-L2 wedged at >5°; (ii) slight anterior extensions of the epiphyseal ring; (iii) Schmorl's nodes on the superior and/or inferior plates; and (iv) a Cobb angle of 75°, derived from thoracic segments T4-T9. In addition, TOR302 shows other skeletal malformations as the secondary results of abnormal growth, due to altered biomechanical forces imposed by the spinal deformity, including: (i) lateral distortion of the spine that causes a slight secondary scoliotic curve; (ii) pelvic obliquity; and (iii) discrepancy in the length of the limbs. We argue that the secondary skeletal abnormalities allowed the individual to adapt to his spinal deformity meaning he was able to walk without the aid of a stick. Despite SD being a common modern clinical finding, few cases have been reported in ancient skeletal remains. This case therefore represents an important contribution to the palaeopathological literature.

Sexual dimorphism of human sternum in a contemporary Spanish population.

Sex estimation is one of the first steps in forensic anthropology to identify human remains. In absence of the skull or the pelvis, any skeletal remain becomes fundamental for identification, especially in mass-disaster cases. The sternum is a potentially useful element in anthropological analysis with a high recovery rate in both forensic-and archaeological context. This study aims to develop classification functions for use in Spanish population. For this, sternum sexual dimorphism is studied in a sample of 105 individuals, known age-at-death, ancestry and sex, from San José Municipal Cemetery of Granada (Spain). Lin's concordance correlation coefficient was used to estimate intra-and inter-observer error. In discriminant analysis for estimating sex, cross-validation shows accuracy rates exceeds 90% for sternum body length and maximum width (91.8%), or total length with maximum width (90.7%). Isolated variables with higher accuracy rates are total sternum length (89.1%), and sternum body length (87%). Although there is compliance with Hyrtl's law it is not useful for estimating sex in Spanish population. These discriminant functions have also been validated successfully in two samples from Portugal (Coimbra identified skeletal collection--CISC, and 21st century identified ckeletal collection--Santarém XXI): the variables with higher accuracy rates sternum total length with its maximum width (92.3% the correctly classified individual in the sample CISC; and 83.5% in the sample of Santarém XXI) and the sternum total length (92.1% and 78.5%, respectively). The discriminant functions achieved with the collection of the San Jose cemetery of Granada can be applied to current remains, provided that study populations present a similar sexual dimorphism, like the two samples from Portuguese population presented in this study.