The skull of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart predicates of his death.

W. A. Mozart died due to the consequences of chronic epidural hematoma after sustaining a dull injury to his head, probably at an early age. Exacerbation of the process was repeated over a period of many years and manifested itself as pyrexial disease, meningeal irritation with intense headaches. After the attack subsided, the illness manifested itself again. After the last attack of the likely infected nidus, Mozart died on December 5, 1791. Historic data about the composer's behavior indicate development of a temporal syndrome or temporal epilepsy with typical clinical manifestations.

Molecular and microscopical evidence of Ehrlichia spp. and Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato in patients, animals and ticks in the Czech Republic.

We report moderately severe cases of human ehrlichiosis and a lethal one caused by human granulocytic Ehrlichia, the HGE agent, closely related to Ehrlichia phagocytophila and Ehrlichia equi. Their vector is the Ixodes ricinus tick, which also transmits Borrelia burgorferi sensu lato in central, west and east regions of the Czech Republic. The diagnosis was established by PCR with sequence analysis of the genes encoding 16S rRNA of Ehrlichia and with reverse hybridization by using enzyme linked immunosorbent assay with different covalently coupled probes to the activated plate. Ten out of 47 patients and 10 huntsmen were PCR positive and 7 of them seroconverted to the HGE. Coinfection of Ehrlichia phagocytophila with Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato was detected in 3 patients. Ehrlichia spp., the HGE agent, was isolated and propagated only from one patient in the HL-60 promyelocytic cell line. The maintenance of Ehrlichia in culture and in patients was assayed also by immunocytological staining and electron microscopy. Sequence or hybridization analysis of PCR results in different wild mammals and birds showed significant sources of Ehrlichia fagocytophila in nature. Three variants of E. phagocytophila in wild roe deer and boars, as well as for the first time in birds, have been described. Cultures from the blood of horses, and from the spleen and kidney specimens of roes and boars, PCR positive for Ehrlichia spp., displayed a disappearing level of the pathogen or contamination with other bacteria.

Roentgencraniometric analysis of skulls of mammoth hunters from Dolní Vestonice.

The authors assessed roentgenometrically Rank-Xerox images of four well-preserved skulls of gravettian mammoth hunters from Dolní Vestonice (26,000 years ago). The basic structure of the face expressed from lateral images in the shape of a pentagon differs from contemporary and historical populations. As these hunters had a markedly longer mandibular body but not a longer mandibular branch, the craniogram (pentagon) is broad in an anteroposterior direction, while in the contemporary population it is narrower and longer in a vertical direction. With the exception of skull DV XIV, which has a marked posteriorotation of the face, the mandible of the hunters is characterized by definite protrusion, a smaller gonial angle and less steepness of the mandibular body (hypodivergent vertical intermaxillary relations). The maxilla protrudes markedly in DV XIII with a consequently more convex profile and impaired sagittal intermaxillary relations (second skeletal class). In the other skulls the convexity of the face and sagittal intermaxillary relations are consistent with contemporary conditions. In the dental analysis only proclination of the upper incisors in two of three assembled skulls is obvious.

Femoral neck fracture--the cause of death of Emperor Charles IV.

We present the oldest documented case of femoral neck fracture of a particular person in the history of orthopaedic surgery. Examination of the skeleton of Charles IV, the King of Bohemia and Roman Emperor living in XIVth century has revealed a fracture of the left femoral neck. This fracture was most probably an indirect cause of his death as it resulted in pneumonia, the immediate cause of death. This fact has been confirmed by contemporary chronicles.

A new find of a Middle Pleistocene mandible from Bilzingsleben, Germany.

The Middle Pleistocene site at Bilzingsleben is being excavated by the Forschungsstelle Bilzingsleben, FSU Jena. It is a living floor with structures of settlement and a great number of Lower Palaeolithic cultural remains. So far, 28 human skull fragments have been discovered, which can be reconstructed into two individual skulls. Recently, the right mandible has also been discovered (Bilzingsleben E7). Morphological comparisons indicate that there is a great similarity to the mandibles of HI and BI of Sinanthropus. A strong likeness to Arago II and XIII was also discovered. There are various different archaic features which assign the Bilzingsleben mandible and the two skulls to the advanced Homo erectus.

Roentgencephalometric analysis of the skulls of the Luxemburgs, the second Bohemian Royal Dynasty.

X-ray films of the skull of the king and emperor Charles IV and his four wives and two sons were made under standard conditions with the mandibles fixed in a centric occlusion. The results of roentgenocephalometric analysis were compared with norms valid for the contemporary Czech population. Consistent with the somatic condition of Charles IV, the findings indicate an above-average large face with the usual anteriorotational developmental type. The facial skeleton is structurally harmonious, but the sagittal intermaxillary relations belong into skeletal class II with a relatively retruded lower jaw in relation to the upper one. This is associated with a greater maxillary overjet of the upper incisors. The disharmony was caused by a fracture of the mandibular condyles. Reconstruction of the condition before the injury revealed an originally normal anteroposterior relationship of the jaws (skeletal class I) and occlusion of the incisors. As to the shape of the cranium, Charles IV's wives differ in basic features. In two, for different reasons, we find skeletal class II (retrogenia), in one skeletal class III (progenia) and only in Elizabeth of Pomerania, with marked flattening of the cranial base and posteriorotation of the face are the anteroposterior relations of the two jaws normal (skeletal class I). Wenceslas IV differs from his parents Charles IV and Anne of Svidnic by a flat cranial base which pushes the lower jaw backwards, however, it does not cause its posteriorotation; we find, similarly as in the father and mother, an anteriorotational growth type of the face. In the other basic parameters of the cranium there are no marked differences between son and parents. In evaluating the similarity of the facial structure of John of Görlitz to that of his parents, disagreement is caused by the flat cranial base of the mother Elizabeth of Pomerania associated with posteriorotation of the face. In the son we find, conversely, an even more marked anteriorotation than in the father and also other parameters of the facial configuration indicating plausible agreement with the findings in Charles IV. The curving of the cranial base has an impact on the shape of the whole cranium, but the results indicate that the heritability of the rotational growth type of face and the degree of cranial base curvature probably is not very marked.

Twenty-five thousand-year-old triple burial from Dolní Vestonice: an ice-age family?

In 1986 a paleolithic triple burial was discovered near Dolní Vestonice (Czech Republic). The occurrence of anatomic variants in all three skeletons gave rise to speculations that the buried individuals may have been closely related. To test this hypothesis the skeletons were submitted to a systematic kinship analysis based on odontologic and other non-metric traits. Statistical tests showed that the coincident occurrence of several rare traits in the individuals is highly unlikely to occur at random. This and further data included in the analysis therefore suggest that the three individuals buried together were genetically related and actually belonged to one family.

[Could the Czech King Ladislav Pohrobek have had hypophosphatemic osteomalacia caused by a neoplastic disease?]. / Mohl ceský král Ladislav Pohrobek trpet hypofosfatemickou osteomalácií vyvolanou nádorovým onemocnením?

Histological examination of undecalcified specimens from different parts of skeletal remnants of king Ladislaus revealed a considerable degree of demineralization of a similar type as found in osteomalacia. This fact along with the finding of multiple osteolytic foci in different parts of the skeleton, and consistent with reports of the clinical picture of the disease made the authors present the hypothesis according to which the king may have suffered from so-called oncogenic osteomalacia. This bone disease may develop as a complication of some neoplastic disease incl. haemoblastoses and haemoblastomas. The authors think that with regard to the age of the king, historical reports and the multiplicity of osteolytic lesions that the most plausible hypothesis is that of oncogenic osteomalacia associated with some type of malignant non-Hodgkin lymphoma.

[Identification of the skulls of paratroopers from Ressl Street in Prague]. / Identifikace lebek parasutistu z Resslovy ulice v Praze.

The paper presents an overall report on the skull identification of paratroopers shot in Ressl Street, Prague. The victims, members of the underground group, assassinated R. Heydrich in June 1942. The skull identification is based on the paratroopers' photographies and, in particular, on the stomatological findings which was compared with the dentition visible in some photographs, especially those showing them smiling. None of the skully examined belonged to the actual assassins (J. Kubis, J. Gabcík). It is highly probable that they were those of the other members of the underground group.

[Estimation of age from skeletal material based on the degree of thyroid cartilage ossification]. / Odhad stárí jedince stanovený na kosterním materiálu podle stupne osifikace chrupavky stítné.

Bone material estimation of an individual's age can in some cases be made by taking advantage of the degree and progression of thyroid cartilage ossification so long as the cartilage has remained preserved. X-ray pictures are taken to asertain the extent of the ossified parts of the thyroid cartilage to be compared with the proposed schema (Fig. 2). The estimated age is than charged with the value of the respective mean error of estimation (Tab. 1.). The method is simple and has stood the test of practice both in paleoanthropology and in forensic medicine to become another technique of estimating the age of unknown skeletal remains or unknown, particularly decomposed bodies.

[Family tree of the historically oldest Premysl dynasty in the light of serological group properties as determined from their skeletal remains]. / Rodokmen historicky nejstarsich Premysl;,vcu ve svetle sérologických skupinových vlastnosti stanovených z jejich kosterních pozustatku.

The determination of group family properties assayed in individuals of five of the historically eldest generations of the Premysl dynasty, who reigned in the 9th and 10th centuries, contributed to: 1. the corroboration or refutation of possible kinship among the individuals under investigation, 2. supporting the identification of some of the individuals as established by other methods, using the above independent methodology, 3. the purification of fragments of anatomically unconnectable parts of the postcranial bones by eliminating fragments of other group properties. In conclusion, the joint anthropological and forensic effort can be said to have contributed to a large extent to obtaining more historical knowledge of personalities associated with the very beginnings of the history of the Czech nation and statehood.