Nódulos de Schmorl en Restos Humanos Arqueológicos de Patagonia Austral

Abstract

Schmorls nodes are herniations of the intervertebral disc nucleous pulposus into the adjacent vertebra. Their causes are partially understood and associated to morphological, degenerative, traumatic and metabolic factors, whereas their role as an indicator of physical activity is currently under debate. In this paper the prevalence of NS in 22 archaeological skeletons from Southern Patagonia is studied, discussing their possible causes and their relationship with the lifestyles of the human populations of this region. A prevalence of 27.3% was recorded. The skeletons from the Santa Cruz/Magallanes region showed higher prevalence of NS than skeletons from northern and southern Tierra del Fuego. Although biological susceptibility for this difference could not be discarded, the results suggest that high mechanical stress on the vertebras is responsible for the developed NS in continental Southern Patagonia.