Our bones can reveal fascinating information about how we have lived, from the food we have eaten to our levels of activity and the infections and injuries we have suffered. Elizabeth Weiss introduces readers to how lifestyle-in complex interaction with biology, genes, and environment-affects health in this distinctive tour of human osteology, past and present.

Centering on health issues that have arisen in the last 50 to 60 years rather than thousands of years ago, Paleopathology in Perspective is organized around particular bone traits such as growth patterns, back pains, infections, and oral health. Each chapter explains one category of traits and reviews data drawn from both ancient and more contemporary populations to explore how global trait trends have changed over time. Weiss also considers the likely causes of these changes-for example, the growth of obesity, increased longevity, and greater intensity of childhood sports. Taking a long view of bones, as Weiss clearly demonstrates, provides clues not just about how ancient humans once lived, but also how biology and behavior, lifestyle and health, remain intrinsically linked.

By Elizabeth Weiss

List of Figures
Acknowledgments
1-Introduction to Bone Research
Bone Biology
Temporal Changes in Human Lifestyle
Evidence of Change: Skeletal Samples and Clinical Databases
2-Growth Patterns
The Human Growth Pattern
Long Bone Growth
Osteological Indicators of Growth
Conclusions
3-Adult Bone Health
Osteomalacia
Osteoporosis and Osteopenia
Conclusions
4-Childhood Injuries
Detecting Childhood Trauma
Patterns of Childhood Trauma: Falls, Abuse, Sports
Conclusions
5-Back Pains
Vertebral Anatomy of a Biped
Back Pain Demographics
Vertebral Pathology Detection
Schmorl's Nodes
Spondylolysis and Spondylolisthesis
Treatment
Conclusions
6-Arthritis
Erosive Arthritis
Osteoarthritis: Diagnosis and Risk Factors
Osteoporosis and Other Degenerative Diseases
Joint Pain Treatment
Conclusions
7-Oral Health
Tooth Anatomy and Examinations
Tooth Wear: Attrition, Abrasion, and Erosion
Tooth Decay
Periodontal Disease
Tooth Loss
Malocclusion
Conclusions
8-Infectious Diseases
General Bone Infections
Parasite-Induced Anemia
Treponemal Diseases
Mycobacterial Diseases
Conclusions
9-Congenital Defects
Birth Defects Diagnostics
Temporal Changes in Birth Defects
Conclusions
10-The Next Fifty Years?
Older Populations
Genetic and Medical Advances
Obesity
Urbanization
Food Fortification
Increasing Paternal Age
Return of Past Diseases
Conclusions
Acronyms
Glossary
Works Cited
Index
About the Author