Radiološka obrada mumificiranih ostataka iz Egipatske zbirke Arheološkog muzeja u Zagrebu Radiological analysis of mummified remains of Egyptian Collection of Zagreb Archeological Museum

摘要

Introduction: Mummies are animal or human bodies in which decomposition is stopped afteruddeath. The most famous are Ancient Egyptian mummies, that first appeared in third milleniumudB.C. and disappeared after the Arab conquest of Egypt in 7th century A.D. Medicine hadudinterest in mummies since first century, and although the attitude has changed over theudcenturies, they are still in scientific focus. Until the invention of X-ray it was impossible toudstudy mummies non-invasively, which led to destruction of this important cultural heritage.udAfterwards it was realized that they are a “window” in history of bioarcheology andudanthropology. ----- Methods and Materials: X-ray, CT and MR scans of 18 specimen from the EgyptianudCollection of Archeological Museum in Zagreb were done in University Department ofudDiagnostic and Interventional Radiology in University Hospital Dubrava. ----- Results: 16 out of 18 mummified remains were scanned on MR and signal on several pointsudof interests were compared with CT scans. Several unique paleopathological conditions wereuddescribed as well as unique artifacts. ----- Conclusion: Several samples were incorrectly catalogized, and two had obvious signs ofudintervention later in history, most probably during 19th century in the period calledud“Egyptomania”. CT remains method of choice in mummy studies, but MR as an additionaludtool can be extremely useful in identifying pathology of iv disks and differentiation of resinsudused during mummification. As this is only the second study with successful gain of MRudsignal with UTE sequence we strongly suggest further multicentered studies.