The “pregnant Egyptian mummy” continues to amaze archaeologists around the world, and now it’s because of a new discovery that may change the world’s understanding of the history of disease.
An archaeological investigation of an ancient Egyptian mummy in the collection of the National Museum in the Polish capital, Warsaw, revealed the first known case of a pregnant mummy in April 2021.
The mummy, originally thought to be the body of the priest Hor Djehoti, was discovered to be a female, and new research by a team of Polish scientists suggests that the bandaged woman is pregnant.
Now, a new study has revealed that a pregnant mummy has a rare form of cancer that has baffled archaeologists, the Daily Mail reports.
Polish researchers were scanning the skull of the ancient corpse when they discovered unusual signs in the bone, similar to those seen in patients with nasopharyngeal cancer, and scientists concluded that the mummy most likely died of the same disease.
Nasopharyngeal cancer is a rare type of cancer that affects the part of the throat that connects the back of the nose to the back of the mouth.
Images from the Warsaw Mummy Project in Poland show the skull with lesions likely from a tumor and large defects in parts of the bone not normally created during the embalming process.
By revealing the historical occurrence of cancer, it is hoped that this will expand the knowledge of cancer development and can contribute to the development of modern medicine.
Additional investigations can also determine the cause of oropharyngeal cancer, such as whether it is linked to a viral or genetic infection.
Source: Lebanon Debate
