History of human tuberculosis in Lithuania: possibilities and limitations of paleoosteological evidences

ENTuberculosis as a special social hazard is known from antiquity. Often causing specific skeletal lesions, secondary ТВ is also in the scope of paleopathological research. The aim of this paper was to discuss cases of specific involvement in Lithuanian paleoosteological materials and to present some epidemiological considerations. In the first millennium AD samples, 4 cases of specific spondylitis and one possible case of cranial vault lesions were identified. Including cases known from the literature, this proves that disease was already not sporadically present in this time. In the second millennium, traces of three clinical forms of ТВ were found: direct skeletal involvement (spondylitis ТВ, 14; synovial joints, 5); lesions of ribs (m randomly selected subadult sample, 11 or 12 cases); traces of memngeal lesions (the same subadult sample, 12 cases). Concerning epidemiology and selective mortality, it was found that total exposure to Mycobacterium had to reach 100 %. Specific skeletal lesions had no significant impact on mortality. Thus the question of appropriate diagnostics and interpretation, as well as interdisciplinary research, is raised. Keywords: Lithuania, paleopathology, Bone tuberculosis.