Multiple fractures present on a skeleton of an elderly woman from the Remédios cemetery, Évora

Abstract

Traumatic injuries are among the most common conditions in skeletal remains, affecting the skeleton in various ways, with fractures being the most prevalent. Traumatic injuries can be intentional or accidental. Some diseases, such as osteoporosis, make the bone more susceptible to fractures because they affect bone metabolism, leaving the bones fragile and susceptible to low energy traumas. This study presents a case of polytrauma observed in an elderly woman from Évora, Portugal, that died in 1988. The skeleton was analyzed by macroscopic and radiological methods. There were fractures in the ribs, vertebrae, sacrum, right iliac, and left femur, and morphological changes in the right hip and left tibial platform. All fractures were properly remodeled, with mature bone tissue, but not all were well aligned. Evidence of infection was only visible in a fracture in the left femur. One or more severe traumatic events, as well as the
presence of osteoporosis, may be at the origin of the observed lesions. Despite the observed lesions, the individual survived several years after trauma however, non-alignment of the fractures and the presence of infection suggest absence or insufficiency of medical care.