RECOGNITION OF LEUKEMIA IN SKELETAL REMAINS - REPORT AND COMPARISON OF 2 CASES

Recognition of disease in the archeologic record is facilitated by cha racterization of the skeletal impact of documented (in life) disease. The present study describes the osteological manifestations of leukemi a as identified in the skeletons of two individuals diagnosed during l ife: a 3-year-old black girl with acute lymphocytic leukemia and a 60- year-old white male with acute myelogenous leukemia in the Hamann-Todd collection. Contrasting with the lack. of specificity of radiologic f indings, macroscopic skeletal changes appear sufficiently specific to allow distinguishing leukemia from other forms of cancer. While leukem ia appears confidently diagnosable, distinguishing among the varieties (e.g., myelogenous and lymphocytic) does not appear possible at this time. Skeletal findings in leukemia are presented in tabular form to f acilitate their application to future diagnosis of the disease in the archaeological record. (C) 1997 Wiley-Liss, Inc.