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Bronze Age Adolescent in Myanmar May Have Survived Skull Surgery 3,000 Years Ago
A circular opening in the skull of an adolescent buried in Bronze Age Myanmar may preserve evidence of a remarkable medical intervention. Its healed edges suggest that the young person survived the procedure for months—and possibly years—while living with a damaged jaw and a serious bone disorder. The discovery is not simply a story of…
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Rare Roman Surgical Tool for Bladder Stone Surgery Found Beside Temple of Hercules in Bulgaria
Archaeologists excavating the ancient city of Heraclea Sintica in southwestern Bulgaria have uncovered an exceptionally rare Roman-era surgical instrument used to remove bladder stones — a small bronze object linked to one of the most painful and risky operations known in ancient medicine. The instrument was found in a room adjoining the Temple of Heracles,…
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2,500-Year-Old Jaw Surgery in Siberia Reveals Iron Age Prosthetic Technique
High in the frozen mountains of the Altai, where winds carve across the Ukok Plateau, a woman survived what should have been a fatal injury. Two and a half millennia later, modern CT imaging has revealed how. Researchers from Novosibirsk State University have identified what may be the earliest documented case of temporomandibular joint (TMJ)…