Syphilis
What is this?
Syphilis is an infection caused by the bacteria treponema. The two major categories for syphilis are endemic and venereal.
Endemic syphilis is spread through skin or mucus contact and can be manifested in several different ways such as pinta, yaws and bejel (Weiss 2015: 140). The symptoms may include bone pain, lymph node swelling, fever and lesions on the lower extremities. Endemic syphilis is usually found in areas with poor sanitation and warmer climates, while venereal syphilis may be found in more western countries with higher sanitation (Larsen 2015: 97).
Venereal syphilis is spread through sexual contact and results in lesions around the genitals. In more serious cases, venereal syphilis may cause osteomyelitis or attack the central nervous system causing psychosis (Weiss 2015: 140).
Venereal syphilis can also be passed from mother to child in utero. This is refered to as congenital syphilis.
How do bioarchaeologists study this?
Both endemic and venereal syphilis may appear on the bones. Generally, it will manifest itself as periosteal reactions in the forearms, hands and lower limbs. It may also cause destructive lesions in the faces, especially in the nasal region and hard palate. Venereal syphilis will also sometimes appear in the cranial vault and in the elbows, hips and knee joints (Larsen 2015: 97).
Congenital syphilis is mainly identifiable in abnormalities in the teeth such as Hutchinson’s incisors (screwdriver teeth), Moon’s cusps (abnormally spaced cusps) and Fournier molars. (Larsen 2015: 97; Ioannou et al. 2016). These abnormalities will not show up in older individuals who contract syphilis due to the fact that their permanent teeth have already been fully formed.