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Mummy in the Machine
Photograph courtesy Michael Miyamoto
An unidentified Egyptian mummy dated back to between 688 and 332 B.C. slides into a CT scanner as part of a recent study of ancient disease.
The mummy was among 52 from the Egyptian Museum in Cairo subjected to medical scanning by a joint U.S.-Egyptian team. The tests revealed that almost half of the dead have clogged arteries associated with a condition called atherosclerosis, which can lead to heart attack or stroke.
One of the mummies, a princess who died about 3,500 years ago, is now the oldest known case of the arterial disease, the researchers say.
"If the princess was in a time machine and I was to see her now, I would tell her to lay off the fat, take plenty of exercise, then schedule her for heart surgery," said study co-leader Gregory Thomas, a professor of cardiology at the University of California, Irvine. "She would require a double bypass."
Read more about the Egyptian princess, the oldest known sufferer of heart disease >>
—With reporting by James Owen
Published April 15, 2011
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Inner Mummy
Photograph courtesy Michael Miyamoto
A CT scan of the head of the mummy Djeher, who lived during Egypt's Ptolemaic period (304 to 30 B.C.), shows his ancient skull under a lifelike funerary mask.
Djeher was among 52 mummies recently scanned for health issues, including the mummy of an Egyptian princess who was found to have the oldest known case of heart disease.
Read more about the ailing ancient Egyptian princess >>
Published April 15, 2011
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Back in the Box
Photograph courtesy Michael Miyamoto
Workers close the sarcophagus of the mummy Hatiay, who lived between 1550 and 1295 B.C., after scanning the mummy for disease. The study revealed that about half of the 52 mummies scanned had calcium deposits indicative of clogged arteries.
Read about an Egyptian princess found to have the oldest known case of heart disease >>
Published April 15, 2011
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Mysterious Mummy
Photograph courtesy Michael Miyamoto
Egyptologist Ibrahem Badr prepares an unidentified mummy dated back to between 688 and 332 B.C. for CT scans as part of a recent research project.
The study ultimately found an unusual number of Egyptian nobles with vascular disease, including a "petite" Egyptian princess.
Read more about the Egyptian princess mummy's test results >>
Published April 15, 2011
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Smile for the Scanner
Photograph courtesy Michael Miyamoto
Mostly unwrapped for the scanner, the mummy of Maiherpri seems to smile as he undergoes a recent CT examination.
Find out what researchers discovered after scanning 52 mummies >>
Published April 15, 2011
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Colorful Royal
Photograph courtesy Michael Miyamoto
A sarcophagus containing the 18th-dynasty mummy Isis sits ready for CT scanning during a recent project. Isis was among 52 mummies from the Egyptian Museum in Cairo that were scanned for the research.
Get the full story: "Egyptian Princess Mummy Had Oldest Known Heart Disease" >>
Published April 15, 2011
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