Suspected tuberculosis in an early 17th-century northern Finnish mummy-A computed tomography case study

Tiina Väre; Jaakko Niinimäki; Juho-Antti Junno; Milton Núñez; Sirpa Niinimäki; Markku Niskanen

doi:10.1016/j.ijpp.2016.05.009

Suspected tuberculosis in an early 17th-century northern Finnish mummy-A computed tomography case study

Int J Paleopathol. 2016 Sep:14:69-73. doi: 10.1016/j.ijpp.2016.05.009. Epub 2016 Jun 29.

Authors

Tiina Väre¹, Jaakko Niinimäki², Juho-Antti Junno³, Milton Núñez⁴, Sirpa Niinimäki⁵, Markku Niskanen⁶

Affiliations

¹ Archaeology, University of Oulu, 90014 Oulun Yliopisto, Finland. Electronic address: [email protected].
² Center for Medical Imaging, Physics and Technology Research of University of Oulu and Oulu University hospital, POB 50, FI-90029, OYS, Finland. Electronic address: [email protected].
³ Archaeology, University of Oulu, 90014 Oulun Yliopisto, Finland; Medical Research Center of University of Oulu and Oulu University hospital, POB 5000, 90014 OYS, Finland. Electronic address: [email protected].
⁴ Archaeology, University of Oulu, 90014 Oulun Yliopisto, Finland. Electronic address: [email protected].
⁵ Archaeology, University of Oulu, 90014 Oulun Yliopisto, Finland. Electronic address: [email protected].
⁶ Archaeology, University of Oulu, 90014 Oulun Yliopisto, Finland. Electronic address: [email protected].

PMID: 29539530
DOI: 10.1016/j.ijpp.2016.05.009

Abstract

The custom of burying deceased members of the elite beneath church floors was common in 17th-18th-century Finland. This practice is responsible for the mummification of the remains of an early 17th-century vicar of Kemi parish, Nikolaus Rungius. Computed tomography performed on his remains revealed a possible tuberculous infection in his spine. The purpose of this paper is to further elaborate on findings in support of this diagnosis. Whether Vicar Rungius had tuberculosis is not only interesting considering his personal history, but also in terms of the history of tuberculosis in Northern Finland where the first systematically recorded cases date back to the 18th century.

Keywords: Church archaeology; Early modernity; Gynecomastia; Mummification; Northern Finland; Tuberculosis.