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INTERNAL ORGANS OF A 2100-YEAR-OLD FEMALE CORPSE
1198
Occasional Tomb INTERNAL ORGANS OF A 2100-YEAR-OLD FEMALE CORPSE OU WEI
Peking, China A NECROPSY and initial studies recently carried by Chinese scientists show that the internal
out
a 2100-year-old female corpse were well and the main diseases of the woman could be identified. The corpse was found in April, 1972, in Mawantui tomb number one of the Han dynasty (206 B.c.-220 A.D.) on the outskirts of Changsha, in It provides Central China’s Hunan Province. scientific data for studying medicine, preservatives, and other facts about ancient China.
organs of
had serious coronary heart-disease, the lumen of one section of the left coronary artery being almost obliterated. There were multiple atherosclerotic changes in arteries A gallstone about the in various parts of the body. size of a broad bean was lodged inside the common bileduct, and another as big as a soya bean blocked the hepatic duct. The age of the woman was estimated to be about 50. She was fat and the body had no bedsores. Evidently she died of an acute disease-perhaps of a coronary attack induced by biliary colic. Most of the medicinal herbs used as funerary objects " are acrid " and " warm ". In Chinese traditional medicine they are considered to be effective in treating rheumatism and numbness, and relieving heart pain and
preserved
Judging found
on
from the some
sealing-clay and inscriptions
in ink
funerary objects, archaeologists estimate
that the body discovered was probably that of the wife of Marquis Tai at the turn of the second century B.C. The dura mater was in a perfect state, while the brain itself had turned into a crumbling mass and occupied only about a third of the cranial cavity. On opening of the abdomen, different layers of its wall were clearly visible. All the internal organs had good contours but were shrunken. A total of 138! musk melon seeds were found in the oesophagus, stomach, and small and large intestines-evidence that the woman had eaten ripe musk melon shortly before she died. Electron microscopy showed that the fine structures of some tissues were fairly well preserved. Specimens of muscle, stomach, liver, bone, and hair were taken and tested for the blood-group. All contained
group-A substance. The
woman
had suffered from several diseases.
Fig. 1-The internal
She
organs from chest and abdomen of the female corpse.
Fig. 3-Brain visible after dura
mater is cut open.
stomach-ache. It seems likely that the woman suffered from these ailments. X-ray examination disclosed that the fourth lumbar intervertebral disc had become narrow. Calcified foci of tuberculosis were seen in the left upper lung and there was a mal-united fracture of the right forearm. Ova of whipworms, pinworms, and schistosoma were detected in the rectum and liver. Gynaecological examination showed that the woman had borne children. At the excavation site the corpse was found half immersed in solution; it was 154 cm. long and weighed 34-3 kg. It was wrapped in many layers of silk and linen fabrics of various types, which were tied with nine rounds of silk ribbons from head to foot. The hairs on the head, when pulled with moderate force, did not come out. The soft tissues in many places have a certain degree of
elasticity. The tomb is over 20 m. deep from the top of the mound the burial chamber. The four inner coffins form a nest, one inside the other. The whole set of six coffins is supported on wooden sleepers. The top and walls of the outermost coffin are tightly enveloped in a 30-to-40cm. layer of charcoal, weighing about five tons, and then sealed with white clay, 60 to 130 cm. thick. Why is the ancient corpse so well preserved? The basic reason is that it was buried deep with airtight sealing to provide a long-lasting environment with little oxygen. The liquid inside the coffin is acid and contains mercurides, possessing a low degree of bacteriostatic action. The corpse maintained its original external appearance after the necropsy. Both the corpse and the specimens of the internal organs have been treated with preservatives. to
Fig. 2-X-raying the female
corpse before the necropsy.
Occasional Tomb INTERNAL ORGANS OF A 2100-YEAR-OLD FEMALE CORPSE OU WEI
Peking, China A NECROPSY and initial studies recently carried by Chinese scientists show that the internal
out
a 2100-year-old female corpse were well and the main diseases of the woman could be identified. The corpse was found in April, 1972, in Mawantui tomb number one of the Han dynasty (206 B.c.-220 A.D.) on the outskirts of Changsha, in It provides Central China’s Hunan Province. scientific data for studying medicine, preservatives, and other facts about ancient China.
organs of
had serious coronary heart-disease, the lumen of one section of the left coronary artery being almost obliterated. There were multiple atherosclerotic changes in arteries A gallstone about the in various parts of the body. size of a broad bean was lodged inside the common bileduct, and another as big as a soya bean blocked the hepatic duct. The age of the woman was estimated to be about 50. She was fat and the body had no bedsores. Evidently she died of an acute disease-perhaps of a coronary attack induced by biliary colic. Most of the medicinal herbs used as funerary objects " are acrid " and " warm ". In Chinese traditional medicine they are considered to be effective in treating rheumatism and numbness, and relieving heart pain and
preserved
Judging found
on
from the some
sealing-clay and inscriptions
in ink
funerary objects, archaeologists estimate
that the body discovered was probably that of the wife of Marquis Tai at the turn of the second century B.C. The dura mater was in a perfect state, while the brain itself had turned into a crumbling mass and occupied only about a third of the cranial cavity. On opening of the abdomen, different layers of its wall were clearly visible. All the internal organs had good contours but were shrunken. A total of 138! musk melon seeds were found in the oesophagus, stomach, and small and large intestines-evidence that the woman had eaten ripe musk melon shortly before she died. Electron microscopy showed that the fine structures of some tissues were fairly well preserved. Specimens of muscle, stomach, liver, bone, and hair were taken and tested for the blood-group. All contained
group-A substance. The
woman
had suffered from several diseases.
Fig. 1-The internal
She
organs from chest and abdomen of the female corpse.
Fig. 3-Brain visible after dura
mater is cut open.
stomach-ache. It seems likely that the woman suffered from these ailments. X-ray examination disclosed that the fourth lumbar intervertebral disc had become narrow. Calcified foci of tuberculosis were seen in the left upper lung and there was a mal-united fracture of the right forearm. Ova of whipworms, pinworms, and schistosoma were detected in the rectum and liver. Gynaecological examination showed that the woman had borne children. At the excavation site the corpse was found half immersed in solution; it was 154 cm. long and weighed 34-3 kg. It was wrapped in many layers of silk and linen fabrics of various types, which were tied with nine rounds of silk ribbons from head to foot. The hairs on the head, when pulled with moderate force, did not come out. The soft tissues in many places have a certain degree of
elasticity. The tomb is over 20 m. deep from the top of the mound the burial chamber. The four inner coffins form a nest, one inside the other. The whole set of six coffins is supported on wooden sleepers. The top and walls of the outermost coffin are tightly enveloped in a 30-to-40cm. layer of charcoal, weighing about five tons, and then sealed with white clay, 60 to 130 cm. thick. Why is the ancient corpse so well preserved? The basic reason is that it was buried deep with airtight sealing to provide a long-lasting environment with little oxygen. The liquid inside the coffin is acid and contains mercurides, possessing a low degree of bacteriostatic action. The corpse maintained its original external appearance after the necropsy. Both the corpse and the specimens of the internal organs have been treated with preservatives. to
Fig. 2-X-raying the female
corpse before the necropsy.