[The role of medical imaging in paleoanthropology]

Study of the health status of ancient populations relies on the detection and analysis of bone or dental lesions from skeletons. In the absence of clinical or biological data, the identification of a pathology relies on anatomic and radiographic findings. Three paleopathological cases are presented and macroscopic and imaging findings are discussed. These include one case of eosinophilic granuloma, one case of Ewing sarcoma, and one case of secondary hypertrophic osteoarthropathy. Each case illustrates the value and limitations of retrospective diagnosis; an etiologic diagnosis can either be possible, suggested or unknown. Multiple biases, related to specimen preservation and the frequent non-specific nature of bony changes, make paleopathological diagnosis challenging. As such, the use of medical imaging seems valuable in the evaluation of such lesions. It allows non-invasive evaluation of the bone, underlying pathology, and lesion comparison to finally narrow the differential diagnosis.