Russian Scientists Use a Computer “Time Machine” to Reveal Ancient Surgery
CT scans show complex operations were performed 2,500 years ago in what is now Russia
Researchers at Novosibirsk State University made what they describe as a major discovery using computed tomography, the university’s press service said. The team scanned the skull of a 2,500-year-old woman from the Pazyryk culture.
The scans showed that during her lifetime she suffered a severe jaw injury that left her unable to eat normally. She later underwent surgery that restored function, allowing her to eat and speak.
Vladimir Kanygin, head of the Laboratory of Nuclear and Innovative Medicine at the university’s Faculty of Physics, said digital imaging helped overcome a key obstacle – mummified soft tissue that obscured the underlying bone structure.
Remarkable Operations
The imaging revealed that the woman’s temporal bone had been depressed by 6–8 millimeters and that her lower jaw had shifted. Researchers also found traces of an elastic material used to stabilize the jaw during the procedure, possibly hair or tendon.
According to the researchers, doctors of that era even performed skull trepanation, as shown by studies of other mummies. Digital technologies continue to uncover striking insights into the ancient past.
