Palaeopathological Evidence Suggesting Multiple Myeloma in a Skull from the Edo Period of Japan

Abstract

The skull of an adult male in the Edo period of Japan was investigated and diagnosed palaeopathologically as multiple myeloma. The pathological changes represented the form of punched out lesions widely scattered in the entire skull.
The differential diagnosis between metastatic carcinoma and multiple myeloma was discussed from morphological and roentgenological point of view. This is the first Palaeopathological case report on a malignant neoplasm in the excavated human skeletal remains from Japan.