__~~ - ---- [From FerneIius’ Universa Medicina, Geneva, 1679.1

BOOKSHELF BROWSING STUDIES IN PALEOPATHOLOGY, XXVIII

THE PHENOMENON OF SACRALIZATION IN THE PLEISTOCENE SABRE/TOOTH

ROY L. MOODIE, PH.D.

SANTA MONICA, CALIF.

T HE anomaIous phenomenon of the ature as sacraIization. That this may be exaggerated deveIopment of the accompanied by co-ossification with the

transverse processes of the Iast sacrum is obvious. The reIation of this

FIG. I. Two norma sacra of the sabre-tooth, showing differences in two aduIts, possibIy maIe (left) and femaIe (right). The left sacrum has a Iength of 150 mm.; the right measures 122 mm. The dorsal view shows the com- pIete union of the three vertebral units to form the sacrum. This union takes pIace reIativeIy early in life.

Iumbar vertebra unti1 they Iook Iike parts condition, often seen in roentgenoIogica1 of the sacrum is known in medica Iiter- examinations of the IumbosacraI region, to

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FIG. 2. Four examples of SacraIization in the sabre-tooth, Pleistocene, of the Ranch0 la Brea. All co-ossifications are on the right side of the sacrum. The measurements of these anomaIies are: full length, upper left, 180 mm.; lower left, 165 mm.; upper rigbt, 166 mm.; lower rigbt, 157 mm. AI1 the anomzdous sacra show a right Iateral curvature, some more pronounced than others. (Specimens in the Los AngeIes Museum.)

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NEW SERIES VOL. X. No. 3 Moodie-Sacralization in Sabre-Tooth A merican JOUIII~ of SUF~WY 589

lumbosacral pain has attracted some atten- curvature to the right. The Iength of the tion among medica men. The anomaIy right sacroiIiac articuIar surfaces is 9 cm. creates disturbances in the IumbosacraI with a width of 4.5 cm. The norma sacra1 passages of nerves and bIood vesseIs, eIements are thoroughIy co-ossified. The which may cause pain. posterior Iumbar zygopophyses are free.

The phenomenon has never been de- The left sacroiIiac articuIation measures scribed in vertebrates other than man, so 5 cm. by 5.5 cm. far as the writer knows, and the presence SpondyIitis deformans enters as a factor of five undoubted examples of this con- in the interpretation of the sacrum shown dition among the 1034 young and aduIt in Figure 2, upper rigbt. This is due to the sacra of the sabre-tooth (Smilodon cali- ossification of the entire mass of the fornicus) of the Ranch0 Ia Brea preserved ventra1 IongitudinaI ligament, which ob- in the Los AngeIes Museum, Exposition Iiterates a11 trace of the intervertebra Park, has Ied to this brief description of surfaces. The right sacroiIiac articulation the phenomenon. is very rough, measuring 9 cm. by 6.5

The five exampIes a11 show co-ossification cm., whiIe the Ieft surface measures 5.5 on the right resuIting in an asymmetry, cm. by 6 cm. The Ieft transverse process of with a lateral curvature to the right. the Iumbar vertebra is greatIy roughened Three of them were secured from Pit 3; by disease. The sacra1 eIements are united. one from Pit 60 and one from Pit 61. StiII another condition is shown in the They are a11 apparentIy adult. sacrum seen in Figure 2, lower rig&, in the

The sacrum shown in Figure 2, upper ossification of a part of a IongitudinaI Iiga- left, presents a reduction in size of the ment, extending up quite a distance on the upper foramen, and a curvature to the Iumbar vertebra. The right articular sur- right brought about by the intense co- face measures 9 cm. by 5 cm. The Ieft ossification of the transverse processes. is pit-worn. SuperiorIy a11 traces of sepa- The articuIar surfaces on the right. side rate structures are obIiterated. have a Iength of IO cm., and a width of 6 The fifth exampIe of sacraIization shows cm., incIuding the surfaces of the co- co-ossification of transverse processes on ossified lumbar vertebrae; whiIe the Ieft the right, resuIting in a sIight asymmetry, articuIar surface offers dimensions of 7.5 with no traces of spondyIitis deformans. cm. by 5.5 cm. The posterior zygopo- The right sacroiIiac junction measures 9 physes of the Iumbar vertebrae are not cm. by 4 cm., whiIe the Ieft shows almost co-ossified with the sacrum, aIthough the equa1 measurements. three norma sacra1 components are fused The phenomenon of sacraIization in into a single mass. itseIf is not pathoIogica1, but an anomaly

The sacrum shown in Figure 2, lower left, due to disturbance in growth, doubtress is unusuaIIy sIender, with a firm co-ossifi- during early embryonic Iife. It is associated cation of the right transverse processes, with diseased conditions without any resulting in a marked asymmetry, with a definite reIation to them.

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