Inca Skull Surgeons Were "Highly Skilled,"


	Inca Skull Surgeons Were "Highly Skilled,"

dakotayii

5-13-2008 2:05 AM

249 views

tags:

science

dakotayii says:

The new findings show that Inca surgeons had developed a detailed knowledge of cranial anatomy, said lead author Valerie Andrushko, of Southern Connecticut State University in New Haven.

"These people were skilled surgeons," she said.

1 Comment |

Add a Comment

5-13-2008 4:11 AM

alanocu

It kind of looks like they were skilled at carving big holes in the skull...ouch!

Login to Comment. Not a member yet? Sign up

Global Coral Crisis Is In Full Bloom

Is the Internet Bad for Science?

failed exams 38 times

Is America Finished?

Science and Political Influence

Templeton's legacy

More clips from dakotayii

Mexican Superheroes

Music and Torture

Outer-space sex

Today's Top Clips

visit the Top Clips page

View the Top Clips from May 13, 2008

Embed This Clip In Your Site...

<div style="margin: 12px 0px; font-family: arial; color: #333333; background: #ffffff; border: solid 4px #e5e5e5; width: 100%; clear: left;"><div class="CM_CTB_Content_Wrap" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;background-color: #ffffff;"><div style="border-bottom: solid 1px #dcdcdc; white-space: nowrap; margin-bottom: 8px; background-color: #eeeeee ;background-image: url(http://clipmarks.com/images/source-bg.gif); background-repeat: repeat-x; height: 24px; line-height: 24px; vertical-align: middle; padding-bottom: 4px; color: #666666; font-size: 10px;" ><a href="http://clipmarks.com/clip-to-blog/" title="see clips that are hot right now"><img src="http://content.clipmarks.com/blog_embed/d441ee25-517d-4af7-ab54-74076f230ace/4DD112FF-D20B-44E0-9546-29ED40D9A622/" alt="" width="19" height="19" border="0" style="vertical-align: middle; margin: 0px 4px; display: inline; border: none; float:none;" /></a>clipped from <a title="http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2008/05/080512-inca-skulls.html" href="http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2008/05/080512-inca-skulls.html" style="font-size: 11px;">news.nationalgeographic.com</a></div><blockquote style="text-align: left; padding: 0px 8px; margin: 4px 0px 8px 0px; background: transparent; border: none;" cite="http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2008/05/080512-inca-skulls.html"><P class="intro">
Inca surgeons in ancient <A href="http://www3.nationalgeographic.com/places/countries/country_peru.html" linkindex="45">Peru</A> commonly and successfully removed small portions of patients' skulls to treat head injuries, according to a new study. 
</P></blockquote><div style="height: 2px; font-size: 2px; background: #dcdcdc; border-bottom: solid 1px #f5f5f5; margin: 2px 4px;"></div><blockquote style="text-align: left; padding: 0px 8px; margin: 4px 0px 8px 0px; background: transparent; border: none;" cite="http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2008/05/080512-inca-skulls.html"><P>
The surgical procedure—known as trepanation—was most often performed on adult men, likely to treat injuries suffered during combat, researchers say. 
								</P></blockquote><div style="height: 2px; font-size: 2px; background: #dcdcdc; border-bottom: solid 1px #f5f5f5; margin: 2px 4px;"></div><blockquote style="text-align: left; padding: 0px 8px; margin: 4px 0px 8px 0px; background: transparent; border: none;" cite="http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2008/05/080512-inca-skulls.html"><div align="center"><img src="http://content6.clipmarks.com/blog_cache/news.nationalgeographic.com/img/7D4A3616-D8D8-4F4C-8464-FE0E4B872199" alt="Inca skull picture" /></div></blockquote><div style="height: 2px; font-size: 2px; background: #dcdcdc; border-bottom: solid 1px #f5f5f5; margin: 2px 4px;"></div><blockquote style="text-align: left; padding: 0px 8px; margin: 4px 0px 8px 0px; background: transparent; border: none;" cite="http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2008/05/080512-inca-skulls.html"><P>
A similar procedure is performed today to relieve pressure caused by fluid buildup following severe head trauma. 
</P></blockquote><div style="height: 2px; font-size: 2px; background: #dcdcdc; border-bottom: solid 1px #f5f5f5; margin: 2px 4px;"></div><blockquote style="text-align: left; padding: 0px 8px; margin: 4px 0px 8px 0px; background: transparent; border: none;" cite="http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2008/05/080512-inca-skulls.html"><P>
Around the ancient Inca capital of Cuzco (see <A href="http://www3.nationalgeographic.com/places/maps/map_country_peru.html" linkindex="57">Peru map</A>), remains dating back to A.D. 1000 show that surgical techniques were standardized and perfected over time, according to the report. 
</P></blockquote><div style="height: 2px; font-size: 2px; background: #dcdcdc; border-bottom: solid 1px #f5f5f5; margin: 2px 4px;"></div><blockquote style="text-align: left; padding: 0px 8px; margin: 4px 0px 8px 0px; background: transparent; border: none;" cite="http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2008/05/080512-inca-skulls.html"><P>
Many of the oldest skulls showed no evidence of bone healing following the operation, suggesting that the procedure was probably fatal. 
</P></blockquote><div style="height: 2px; font-size: 2px; background: #dcdcdc; border-bottom: solid 1px #f5f5f5; margin: 2px 4px;"></div><blockquote style="text-align: left; padding: 0px 8px; margin: 4px 0px 8px 0px; background: transparent; border: none;" cite="http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2008/05/080512-inca-skulls.html"><P>
But by the 1400s, survival rates approached 90 percent, and infection levels were very low, researchers say. 
</P></blockquote></div><div style="margin: 0px 6px 6px 4px;"><table style="font-size: 11px;border-spacing: 0px;padding: 0px;" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%"><tr><td style="background:transparent;border-width:0px;padding:0px;">&nbsp;</td><td align="right" style="background:transparent;border-width:0px;padding:0px;width:107px" width="107"><a href="http://clipmarks.com/share/4DD112FF-D20B-44E0-9546-29ED40D9A622/blog/" title="blog or email this clip"><img src="http://content7.clipmarks.com/images/c2b-foot.png" border="0" alt="blog it" width="107" height="17" style="border-width:0px;padding:0px;margin:0px;" /></a></td></tr></table></div></div>

Clipmarks: Home; New Clips; Top Clips; Dashboard

Popular Topics: News; Life; Science; Technology; Entertainment

Get Started: Sign Up; Install Clipping Tool; How Clipping Works; Clip-to-Blog™; ClipSearch

Tools and Resources: FAQ; ClipWeek; Top Clippers; Top Tags; Site Map

About Clipmarks: About Us; Contact; Blog; Copyright; Privacy; EULA

Search Options

Related Clips

More clips from dakotayii

Today's Top Clips