Histology of pulmonary tuberculosis in a 19th-century mummy from Comiso (Sicily, Italy)

The aim of this study is to investigate potential evidence of tuberculosis in mummified remains.

The natural mummy of an anonymous friar from the mortuary chapel of the church of Santa Maria della Grazia in Comiso (Sicily) METHODS: The mummy was studied through macroscopic examination; tissue sampling was conducted through breaches in the dorsal surface of the thorax. Radiological, histological and immunohistochemical analyses were performed on the pulmonary parenchyma.

The mummified remains are those of an adult male approximately 25-45 years old. In the left lung, 7 intra parenchymal calcified nodules were detected. The fibrocalcific nodules showed some lacunae surrounded by fibrous tissue containing amorphous necrotic, most probably caseous, material.

These findings are compatible with a chronic infectious-inflammatory disease, likely a calcification of a previous Ghon complex of an apical nodular tuberculosis.

Our study supports the great spread of the disease in the 19th century; a time when it reached its maximum peak in Europe.

Molecular investigations failed to detect traces of Mycobacterium tuberculosis DNA in the sample.

The investigation on the mummies from Comiso is still in progress, and further analyses will potentially provide paleopathological data on this community of Modern Age which could be integrated with historical and archival sources.