Chronic maxillary atelectasis under the wrappings of an Egyptian mummy.

OBJECTIVES

In the context of a joint Mummy Research Project of the National Archaeological Museum, the Hellenic Institute of Egyptology and the Athens Medical Centre, an Egyptian mummy of the mid-Ptolemaic Period was transferred to our hospital and was thoroughly investigated with Computed Tomography.

METHODS

The mummy was carefully removed from its coffin and scanned in a 64-detector row computed tomographic scanner. Multiplanar and anthropometric measurements were obtained using advanced software.

RESULTS

The mummy appeared to be well-preserved and belonged to a young male adult. Among the findings, the most interesting and uncommon one was the asymmetry of the maxillary sinuses and the orbits. There were no signs of trauma.

CONCLUSIONS

Computed Tomography revealed in a non-destructive way a rare, based on the published data, facial deformity in an Egyptian mummy attributed to chronic maxillary atelectasis.