Dry bone histology of bone tumours.

This article focuses on the application of dry bone histology in the diagnosis of a series of different bone tumours. It provides a short introduction on bone tumour classification and how tumours may affect the skeleton. To illustrate the value of dry bone histology in the diagnostic process we studied the 'fresh' and 'dry' bone histology of a series of well-documented, recent clinical cases of various benign and malignant bone tumours. We show that histology is a valuable instrument to assess bone tissue architecture, which provides information on the biological behaviour of a tumour. Though histology may reveal the specific 'tumorous' bone deposition of high-grade conventional osteosarcomas, all other bone tumours display common, unspecific features. This holds for the following tumours: osteochondroma, hyperostotic meningioma, high-grade angiosarcoma, grade 2 chondrosarcoma, myoepithelial carcinoma, high-grade osteosarcoma and four carcinoma metastases. We conclude that histology is useful in cases where the biological behaviour of a tumour is to be defined, and is particularly an aide in the diagnosis of high-grade conventional osteosarcomas. Nevertheless, the differential diagnosis on the bone tumours in our series should primarily be based on a combination of physical anthropological patient data (age, sex), gross anatomy (e.g. tumour morphology and location), and radiography.

Diagnostic dry bone histology in human paleopathology.

Paleopathology is the study of trauma and disease as may be observed in ancient (human) remains. In contrast to its central role in current medical practice, microscopy plays a rather modest role in paleopathology. This is at least partially due to the differences between fresh and decomposed (i.e., skeletonized or "dry bone") tissue samples. This review discusses these differences and describes how they affect the histological analysis of paleopathological specimens. First, we provide a summary of some general challenges related to the histological analysis of palaeopathological specimens. Second, the reader is introduced in bone tissue histology and bone tissue dynamics. The remainder of the paper is dedicated to the diagnostic value of dry bone histology. Its value and limitations are illustrated by comparing several well-studied paleopathological cases with similar contemporary, clinical cases. This review illustrates that due to post-mortem loss of soft tissue, a limited number of disorders display pathognomonic features during histological analysis of skeletonized human remains. In the remainder of cases, histology may help to narrow down the differential diagnosis or is diagnostically unspecific. A comprehensive, multidisciplinary diagnostic approach therefore remains essential. Clin. Anat. 29:831-843, 2016. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Human cranial vault thickness in a contemporary sample of 1097 autopsy cases: relation to body weight, stature, age, sex and ancestry.

The relation between human cranial vault thickness (CVT) and various elements of the physical anthropological biological profile is subject of ongoing discussion. Some results seem to indicate no correlation between CVT and the biological profile of the individual, whereas other results suggest that CVT measurements might be useful for identification purposes. This study assesses the correlation between CVT and body weight, stature, age, sex, and ancestry by reviewing data of 1097 forensic autopsies performed at the Netherlands Forensic Institute (NFI). In subadults (younger than 19 years of age at the time of death), all frontal, temporal, and occipital CVT measurements correlated moderately to strongly with indicators of growth (body weight, stature, and age). Neither sex nor ancestry correlated significantly with cranial thickness. In adults, body weight correlated with all CVT measurements. No meaningful correlation was found between CVT and stature or age. Females showed to have thicker frontal bones, and the occipital region was thicker in the Negroid subsample. All correlation in the adult group was weak, with the distribution of cranial thickness overlapping for a great deal between the groups. Based on these results, it was concluded that CVT generally cannot be used as an indicator for any part of the biological profile.