Checklist and Scoring System for the Assessment of Soft Tissue Preservation in CT Examinations of Human Mummies.

The purpose of this study was to develop a checklist for standardized assessment of soft tissue preservation in human mummies based on whole-body computed tomography examinations, and to add a scoring system to facilitate quantitative comparison of mummies. Computed tomography examinations of 23 mum...

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Main Authors: Stephanie Panzer, Mark R Mc Coy, Wolfgang Hitzl, Dario Piombino-Mascali, Rimantas Jankauskas, Albert R Zink, Peter Augat
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2015-01-01
Series:PLoS ONE
Online Access:http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC4526695?pdf=render
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author Stephanie Panzer
Mark R Mc Coy
Wolfgang Hitzl
Dario Piombino-Mascali
Rimantas Jankauskas
Albert R Zink
Peter Augat
author_facet Stephanie Panzer
Mark R Mc Coy
Wolfgang Hitzl
Dario Piombino-Mascali
Rimantas Jankauskas
Albert R Zink
Peter Augat
author_sort Stephanie Panzer
collection DOAJ
description The purpose of this study was to develop a checklist for standardized assessment of soft tissue preservation in human mummies based on whole-body computed tomography examinations, and to add a scoring system to facilitate quantitative comparison of mummies. Computed tomography examinations of 23 mummies from the Capuchin Catacombs of Palermo, Sicily (17 adults, 6 children; 17 anthropogenically and 6 naturally mummified) and 7 mummies from the crypt of the Dominican Church of the Holy Spirit of Vilnius, Lithuania (5 adults, 2 children; all naturally mummified) were used to develop the checklist following previously published guidelines. The scoring system was developed by assigning equal scores for checkpoints with equivalent quality. The checklist was evaluated by intra- and inter-observer reliability. The finalized checklist was applied to compare the groups of anthropogenically and naturally mummified bodies. The finalized checklist contains 97 checkpoints and was divided into two main categories, "A. Soft Tissues of Head and Musculoskeletal System" and "B. Organs and Organ Systems", each including various subcategories. The complete checklist had an intra-observer reliability of 98% and an inter-observer reliability of 93%. Statistical comparison revealed significantly higher values in anthropogenically compared to naturally mummified bodies for the total score and for three subcategories. In conclusion, the developed checklist allows for a standardized assessment and documentation of soft tissue preservation in whole-body computed tomography examinations of human mummies. The scoring system facilitates a quantitative comparison of the soft tissue preservation status between single mummies or mummy collections.
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spelling doaj.art-ccfd67271c004ee781b31b049a7777dd2022-12-22T01:53:40ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS ONE1932-62032015-01-01108e013336410.1371/journal.pone.0133364Checklist and Scoring System for the Assessment of Soft Tissue Preservation in CT Examinations of Human Mummies.Stephanie PanzerMark R Mc CoyWolfgang HitzlDario Piombino-MascaliRimantas JankauskasAlbert R ZinkPeter AugatThe purpose of this study was to develop a checklist for standardized assessment of soft tissue preservation in human mummies based on whole-body computed tomography examinations, and to add a scoring system to facilitate quantitative comparison of mummies. Computed tomography examinations of 23 mummies from the Capuchin Catacombs of Palermo, Sicily (17 adults, 6 children; 17 anthropogenically and 6 naturally mummified) and 7 mummies from the crypt of the Dominican Church of the Holy Spirit of Vilnius, Lithuania (5 adults, 2 children; all naturally mummified) were used to develop the checklist following previously published guidelines. The scoring system was developed by assigning equal scores for checkpoints with equivalent quality. The checklist was evaluated by intra- and inter-observer reliability. The finalized checklist was applied to compare the groups of anthropogenically and naturally mummified bodies. The finalized checklist contains 97 checkpoints and was divided into two main categories, "A. Soft Tissues of Head and Musculoskeletal System" and "B. Organs and Organ Systems", each including various subcategories. The complete checklist had an intra-observer reliability of 98% and an inter-observer reliability of 93%. Statistical comparison revealed significantly higher values in anthropogenically compared to naturally mummified bodies for the total score and for three subcategories. In conclusion, the developed checklist allows for a standardized assessment and documentation of soft tissue preservation in whole-body computed tomography examinations of human mummies. The scoring system facilitates a quantitative comparison of the soft tissue preservation status between single mummies or mummy collections.http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC4526695?pdf=render
spellingShingle Stephanie Panzer
Mark R Mc Coy
Wolfgang Hitzl
Dario Piombino-Mascali
Rimantas Jankauskas
Albert R Zink
Peter Augat
Checklist and Scoring System for the Assessment of Soft Tissue Preservation in CT Examinations of Human Mummies.
PLoS ONE
title Checklist and Scoring System for the Assessment of Soft Tissue Preservation in CT Examinations of Human Mummies.
title_full Checklist and Scoring System for the Assessment of Soft Tissue Preservation in CT Examinations of Human Mummies.
title_fullStr Checklist and Scoring System for the Assessment of Soft Tissue Preservation in CT Examinations of Human Mummies.
title_full_unstemmed Checklist and Scoring System for the Assessment of Soft Tissue Preservation in CT Examinations of Human Mummies.
title_short Checklist and Scoring System for the Assessment of Soft Tissue Preservation in CT Examinations of Human Mummies.
title_sort checklist and scoring system for the assessment of soft tissue preservation in ct examinations of human mummies
url http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC4526695?pdf=render
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