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Widespread skeletal pathology in a 19th-century UK soldier: Combining macroscopic, radiographic, and micro-CT analysis

Pathologie squelettique étendue chez un soldat britannique du XIXe siècle : combinaison d’analyses macroscopiques, radiographiques et micro-CT
Chiara Huwiler, Thomas Delbey et Nivien Petiti

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1This study analyses a single skeleton with extensive pathological changes combining osteology, imaging methods and historical context, to interpret the health impacts of military mobility, and to explore how macroscopic, radiographic, and micro-CT approaches complement each other in reconstructing individual life history and health. The human remains belong to a probable file-and-rank soldier (18-25 years) buried in the mid-19th-century military cemetery at Chatham, Kent (UK) after a probable overseas deployment. Macroscopic assessment was combined with radiographic and micro-CT analysis of the upper limbs. Lesions were mapped, characterised, and interpreted within a differential diagnosis and osteobiographical framework. The skeleton displays widespread mixed lytic and proliferative lesions, periosteal reactions, and porosities affecting nearly all major skeletal regions. Both woven and lamellar bone were observed, indicating chronic, systemic and partly healing processes. Reflecting the multi-method approach showed the value of macroscopy to give the diagnostic baseline, radiography to confirm internal changes, and micro-CT to refine lesion characterisation. Although no definitive diagnosis was reached, findings point to a multifocal, chronic, and aggressive process affecting most of the skeleton. Next to wider known possible diseases, the differential diagnosis was broadened to include non-local pathogens associated with overseas service. The findings highlight significant physiological stress and long-term disease burden in a young adult soldier, likely reflecting military life, overseas exposure, and possible hospital treatment before death. Allowing a window into broader population health, showing how mobility and military service affected soldiers’ morbidity and mortality in a single case.

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Chiara Huwiler, Thomas Delbey et Nivien Petiti, « Widespread skeletal pathology in a 19th-century UK soldier: Combining macroscopic, radiographic, and micro-CT analysis »Bulletins et mémoires de la Société d’Anthropologie de Paris [En ligne], 38(S) | 2026, mis en ligne le 16 décembre 2025, consulté le 08 mars 2026. URL : http://journals.openedition.org/bmsap/17208 ; DOI : https://doi.org/10.4000/15hj1

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Auteurs

Chiara Huwiler

Cranfield Forensic Institute, Cranfield University, Cranfield, United Kingdom ; chiara.huwiler[at]gmail.com

Thomas Delbey

Cranfield Forensic Institute, Cranfield University, Cranfield, United Kingdom

Nivien Petiti

Cranfield Forensic Institute, Cranfield University, Cranfield, United Kingdom

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Le texte seul est utilisable sous licence CC BY-NC-ND 4.0. Les autres éléments (illustrations, fichiers annexes importés) sont susceptibles d’être soumis à des autorisations d’usage spécifiques.

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