Annals of medical history . Fig. 11. Spondylitis in the lumbar vertebra ofan ancient Egyptian. About 5,000 years old. (AfterRuffer.) Fig. 12. Spondylitis deformans in a recent humanvertebra. Natural size. These four figures show the characteristic lesions of this osteoarthritis at different periods of the historyof animals and man. So far as external appearances go there has been no change in the pathological pro-cesses producing these lesions since the Pleistocene at least. Similar lesions of greater antiquity have notyet been seen. 386 Annals of Medical History is, from the geological standp
Annals of medical history . Fig. 11. Spondylitis in the lumbar vertebra ofan ancient Egyptian. About 5,000 years old. (AfterRuffer.) Fig. 12. Spondylitis deformans in a recent humanvertebra. Natural size. These four figures show the characteristic lesions of this osteoarthritis at different periods of the historyof animals and man. So far as external appearances go there has been no change in the pathological pro-cesses producing these lesions since the Pleistocene at least. Similar lesions of greater antiquity have notyet been seen. 386 Annals of Medical History is, from the geological standpoint, of rela-tively recent origin and has afflicted theinhabitants of the earth for only the lastone-quarter of the earths history—thatis, for the last 25,000,000 out of a possible. Fig. 13. The mandible of a cave bear, Ursusspelxus, Pleistocene of Europe, showing the ravagesof disease. Caries and the absorption of alveolarprocesses, as well as necrotic sinuses are evidentin this mandible. (After Mayer.) 100,000,000 years. Future discoveries willdoubtless modify our present conceptions,but the above outline is a summary of ourpresent knowledge of the rise and develop-ment of disease among animals. TABULATION OF GEOLOGICAL EVIDENCES The table given below will show at aglance the antiquity of pathological evi-dences in geological history. The estimatesof time are based upon the relative thick-ness of the pre-Cambrian and post-Cam-brian rocks, after Walcott and Schuchert,as given by Osborn in his Origin andEvolution of The estimates of theduration of the geological periods varygreatly. The duration of the Proterozoicwas as great, probably, as all post-Cam-brian time, which has been estimated ashigh as 100,000,000 years. A study of radio-active substances giv
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