Unusual foreign metallic object (nail) in the dentition of a skull from the anthropological collection of Rudolf Virchow (Berlin)

Abstract

Foreign bodies in the dentition of present day patients are frequently diagnosed. They are more rare in mediaeval and anthropological specimens. Rudolf Virchow, the doyen of pathology in Germany formed a huge collection of anthropological specimens in the 19th century. Among these specimens one skull from Tiflis (Tbilisi, Georgia) found its way into the collection of Virchow in 1881. The skull is that of a prisoner of war who died in 1877 due to dysentery. The skull is remarkable in that a metallic nail was adapted around the second right maxillary molar. Both radiological and clinical findings indicate that the nail was adapted to the tooth while the individual was still alive. In particular, erosion of the cortical bone plate in the affected area and osseous healing between the first and second maxillary molar may be taken as proof of adaptation of the nail in vivo. The reasons why the nail was applied, however, are difficult to explain. The authors assume that the nail was applied not by the individual himself. Probably, the nail was adapted as an amulet to protect the individual from injury or death.