Unidentified Oddity of the Petrous Portion of the Temporal Bone: A Case Study from a Historic Cemetery in Louisiana

Summary

This is an abstract from the "SAA 2021: General Sessions" session, at the 86th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

While there are several commonly tracked non-metric and pathological features of the temporal bone, rarely are they found on the internal petrous portion. In this case study, the bilateral presentation of perforations located on the internal, superior aspect of the petrous portion of the temporal bone are discussed. The lesions are laterally placed near to the squama of the temporal bone rather than to the medial portion of the petrous. The perforations appear to manifest as wide porous lesions, each approximately 5mm x 15mm in size, superior to the auditory canal. Several conditions will be considered in completing the differential diagnosis including otitis media, cholesteatoma, brain herniation, and other osteolytic processes. There are no other obvious pathological conditions afflicting this individual. With an undetermined skeletal defect such as this, tremendous value is placed on the experience of other bioarchaeologists, and we welcome the opportunity for others to provide input and their own interpretation of the defect.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 86th Annual Meeting, Online (2021)   •
• SAA 2021: General Sessions

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Spatial Coverage

Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 32037