A subject with abnormally short stature from Imperial Rome

In spite of the rich iconographic and literary documentation from ancient s ources, the skeletal evidence concerning individuals of abnormally short st ature in the Greco-Roman world is scarce. The necropolis of Viale della Ser enissima/Via Basiliano in Rome, mostly referable to the II century AD, rece ntly yielded the skeleton of an individual characterized by proportionate s hort stature, gracile features suggesting female gender, and delayed epiphy sial closure, associated with full maturation of the permanent dentition. T hese characteristics could be compatible with the phenotype associated with female gonadal dysgenesis. The skeletal individual described here, althoug h poorly preserved, represents the first evidence of a paleopathologic cond ition affecting skeletal growth documented for the population of ancient Ro me. (J. Endocrinol. Invest. 24: 546-548, 2001) (C) 2001. Editrice Kurtis.