The Skinner Burial of Ontario, Canada, and the Question of Paget's Disease in the Americas.

PURPOSE: To examine a possible case of Paget's disease of bone (PDB) in an Indigenous pre-contact male from Canada, individual D of the Skinner site in Ontario.

METHODS

Radiographs, CT scan and histological analysis.

RESULTS

The histological analysis revealed the mosaic pattern that characterizes PDB. CT scans show advanced sclerosis of the cranium and a diminished diplӧe with osteolytic lesions.

CONCLUSIONS

The pathological features that have been identified are collectively characteristic of PDB.

SIGNIFICANCE: The Skinner case advances our understanding of the global history and distribution of PDB.

LIMITATIONS OF STUDY: Only two New World cases have been identified and neither has been studied in sufficient detail.

SUGGESTIONS FOR FUTURE RESEARCH: The older individuals in precolonial New World skeletal series should be given CT scans, which are non-intrusive, to be followed by histological and genetic analyses when indicated.