01757nas a2200265   4500000000100000008004100001260001300042653001900055653001100074653002100085653001100106653002500117653002200142653001200164653001500176653001900191653001500210100001100225700001400236245007200250300001000322490000800332520113700340022001401477       2005                            d  c2005 Feb10aBone and Bones10aFemale10aHistory, Ancient10aHumans10aLeprosy, Tuberculoid10aMortuary Practice10aMummies10aNasal Bone10aPaleopathology10aUzbekistan1 aBlau S1 aYagodin V00aOsteoarchaeological evidence for leprosy from western Central Asia.  a150-80 v1263 a<p>Published reports of palaeopathological analyses of skeletal collections from Central Asia are, to date, scarce. During the macroscopic examination of skeletal remains dating to the early first millennium AD from the Ustyurt Plateau, Uzbekistan, diagnostic features suggestive of leprosy were found on one individual from Devkesken 6. This adult female exhibited rhinomaxillary changes indicative of leprosy: resorption of the anterior nasal spine, rounding and widening of the nasal aperture, erosion of the alveolar margin, loss of a maxillary incisor, and inflammatory changes in the hard palate. While it is unclear whether the bones of the hands and the feet from this individual were absent as a result of collection strategy or poor preservation, lesions affecting the tibia and fibula were recorded, and the ways in which they may be related to a diagnosis of leprosy are discussed. This is the first skeletal evidence of leprosy from Central Asia and raises questions not only about the spread of the disease in the past, but also about the living conditions of what traditionally were thought of as nomadic peoples.</p>  a0002-9483