5 Other archaeological studies

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An Upper Palaeolithic male individual from Italy represents the earliest case of dwarfism associated with Madelung’s deformity. Other indications in this skeleton tell us that he did not suffer from DCS but a different form of dwarfism, an acromesomelic dysplasia, which is much more severe than DCS. The stature of this individual was estimated at only 1.0 to 1.30 m (Frayer et al. 1987).

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A 2nd-3rd-century AD young female from the Talayotic site of ‘S. Illot de Porros’ in Mallorca, Spain (Campillo & Malgosa 1991) with evidence of bilateral brachymelia with bowing of the radius and posterior dislocation of the ulna consistent with probable Madelung’s deformity.

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A mature adult male (45-50 years), the Donori man, dating from 2800 BC from Nuragic in Sardinia. The main pathological features affected the forearms, which were both characterised by marked shortness and morphological alteration of the distal epiphyses. Some major changes involved the radii, whose diaphyses were shortened and strongly bowed. But as the lower legs had not survived, a diagnosis of mesomelia could not be made and an aetiology of DCS could not be stated with certainty (Canci et al. 2002).

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A 20-25 year old male skeleton dating from the 2nd-3rd century AD from Gloucester, England. The most significant abnormalities were Madelung’s deformity affecting the right radius (the only one to have survived sufficiently well to allow examination), an abnormal right humerus, curved and shorter ulnae and mesomelia, suggesting a probable diagnosis of dyschondrosteosis (Waldron 2000).

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A 60 year old female skeleton dating from the 6th century AD from Geneva, Switzerland, showed the forearm changes and may be an example of DCS (Kauffman et al. 1979).

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A 7th century male aged between 18 and 20 years from the Pieve di Pava, Siena, Italy, whose skeleton reveals a stature of about 150 cm with short, bowed radii, bilateral deformation of the proximal and distal epiphyses of the radii and ulnae, bilateral bowing and shortening of the tibiae and bilateral agenesis of the fibulae. These deformations are suggestive of Langer syndrome (Mongelli et al. 2010).

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A 9th-11th-century Anglo-Saxon female from Black Gate cemetery, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, England. The age at death was estimated at between 35 and 44 years. This skeleton revealed deformity of both forearms and shortened stature due to reduced tibial length, which were considered indicative of dyschondrosteosis (Cummings & Rega 2008).

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An 11th-13th-century adult male skeleton from the Hispano-Muslim necropolis of San Nicolás de Murcia, Spain. The deformities of the forearms are quite similar to those of the Donori man, especially those concerning the medial distal epiphysis of the radius (Campo et al. 1996).

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A medieval elderly male from Saint Gregory’s Priory, Canterbury, Kent, England. In this case there is no evidence of dysplasia. The right radius and ulna were shortened due to premature fusion of the distal growth plate. The radius displayed lateral and dorsal bowing and the ulna was dislocated posteriorly. The unilateral presentation, shortening of the ulna and atrophy of the hand bones suggest a post-traumatic rather than an idiopathic form of the Madelung’s deformity. The normal length of the lower legs is an argument against a diagnosis of dyschondrosteosis and Madelung’s deformity associated with mesomelic dysplasia (Anderson & Carter 1995).