The influence of diet on the distribution of nitrogen isotopes in animals was investigated by analyzing animals grown in the laboratory on diets of constant nitrogen isotopic composition. 
The isotopic composition of the nitrogen in an animal reflects the nitrogen isotopic composition of its diet. The δ^(15)N values of the whole bodies of animals are usually more positive than those of their diets. Different individuals of a species raised on the same diet can have significantly different δ^(15)N values. The variability of the relationship between the δ^(15)N values of animals and their diets is greater for different species raised on the same diet than for the same species raised on different diets. Different tissues of mice are also enriched in ^(15)N relative to the diet, with the difference between the δ^(15)N values of a tissue and the diet depending on both the kind of tissue and the diet involved. The δ^(15)N values of collagen and chitin, biochemical components that are often preserved in fossil animal remains, are also related to the δ^(15)N value of the diet. 
The dependence of the δ^(15)N values of whole animals and their tissues and biochemical components on the δ^(15)N value of diet indicates that the isotopic composition of animal nitrogen can be used to obtain information about an animal's diet if its potential food sources had different δ^(15)N values. The nitrogen isotopic method of dietary analysis probably can be used to estimate the relative use of legumes vs non-legumes or of aquatic vs terrestrial organisms as food sources for extant and fossil animals. However, the method probably will not be applicable in those modern ecosystems in which the use of chemical fertilizers has influenced the distribution of nitrogen isotopes in food sources. 
The isotopic method of dietary analysis was used to reconstruct changes in the diet of the human population that occupied the Tehuacan Valley of Mexico over a 7000 yr span. Variations in the δ^(15)C and δ^(15)N values of bone collagen suggest that C_4 and/or CAM plants (presumably mostly corn) and legumes (presumably mostly beans) were introduced into the diet much earlier than suggested by conventional archaeological analysis.

Influence of Diet On the Distribtion of Nitrogen Isotopes in Animals

Animal Bones in Archaeology Book of Notes and Drawings for Beginners. By Michael L. Ryder. (Mammal Society Handbooks.) Pp. xxiv + 65. (Blackwell (Scientific): Oxford and Edinburgh. Published for the Mammal Society, 1969.) 17s.

Digging up Bones

History of tuberculosis

Bioarchaeology: Interpreting behavior from the human skeleton

The first edition (1981) of this comprehensive work weighed 25 lb and had 3300 pages. This entirely new third edition, published 14 years later, has grown to 45 lb and 4850 pages. This growth is not due to inflation but is the direct result of the information explosion. The multiplication of techniques for imaging and studying the bone and soft tissues has made choosing the best method for examination of the patient more difficult and, in an environment in which cost-effectiveness has become a byword, more important. An underlying principle of this work is to guide the physician in the choice of the technology to be employed to get essential information quickly and efficiently. Dr Resnick has called on a group of 40 contributors for special information, but he himself has played a major role in the writing and has been more than an editor, thereby ensuring a consistent and

Diagnosis of Bone and Joint Disorders

The aim of this study was to examine the evidence, and consider the differential diagnosis, for tuberculosis (TB) in juvenile individuals from early 20th century documented skeletons. There are 66 male and female juvenile individuals in the Coimbra Identified Skeletal Collection (CISC) with an age at death ranging from 7-21 years. The individuals died between 1904-1936 in different areas of Coimbra, Portugal. Eighteen of these individuals died from TB affecting different parts of the body. Thirteen (72.2%) showed skeletal lesions that may be related to this infection. Of the 48 individuals with a non-tuberculous cause of death, only 2 (4.2%) had skeletal changes that could be attributed to TB. The distribution of skeletal manifestations caused by the types of TB under study, based on macroscopic and radiological findings, is described and discussed. In addition, the medical records from 6 tuberculous individuals who died in Coimbra University Hospital (CUH) were analysed, and the information, including their diet and access to treatment, is presented. This work, based on data arising before antibiotics became available for treatment, can contribute to the future diagnosis of TB in non-documented skeletal material, and will facilitate a more reliable diagnosis of TB in juvenile individuals.

/pdf/a-picture-of-tuberculosis-in-young-portuguese-people-in-the-1qt01t5sts.pdf

A picture of tuberculosis in young Portuguese people in the early 20th century: A multidisciplinary study of the skeletal and historical evidence

The role of new bone formation on visceral surfaces of ribs in the diagnosis of tuberculosis (TB) in past human populations has been explored by many researchers, using both skeletal remains with known causes of death and archaeological samples. This study focuses, firstly, on adult skeletons from the Coimbra Identified Skeletal Collection in Portugal and investigates the skeletal manifestations of individuals known to have died from TB; secondly, this study focuses on the role of rib lesions in the diagnostic criteria for TB. One hundred and fifty-seven males and 106 females aged between 22-87 years were examined; causes of death were assigned as pulmonary TB, extrapulmonary TB, and pulmonary non-TB; a control group, extrapulmonary non-TB, was selected from the remaining individuals. Of individuals with rib lesions, 85.7% (69/81) had pulmonary or extrapulmonary TB as an assigned cause of death, while 17.8% (16/90) of individuals with rib lesions had a non-TB cause of death. Rib lesions were significantly more common in individuals who had died from TB, although the lesions cannot be considered pathognomonic for TB. In individuals dying from pulmonary TB, ribs in the central part of the rib cage were most affected, at their vertebral ends. The lower part of the rib cage may be a marker for peritoneal TB, and "coral-like" new bone formation on ribs may be an indicator of neoplastic disease. Further work on rib involvement in TB in clinical contexts, and the study of further documented skeletal collections, are recommended.

/pdf/anatomy-of-a-serial-killer-differential-diagnosis-of-2ik51fssfn.pdf

Anatomy of a serial killer: differential diagnosis of tuberculosis based on rib lesions of adult individuals from the Coimbra Identified Skeletal Collection, Portugal.

In the last 20 years, studies on human identified skeletal collections have revealed a significant relationship between new bone formation on the visceral surface of ribs and pulmonary tuberculosis (TB). To improve methods of differential diagnosis of respiratory diseases in archaeological skeletons, an investigation was conducted on 197 individuals from the Human Identified Skeletal Collection of the Museu Bocage (Lisbon, Portu- gal). This sample included 109 males and 88 females who lived during the 19th-20th centuries, with ages at death ranging from 13-88 years. The skeletons were grouped according to cause of death: 1) pulmonary TB (N ¼ 84); 2) pulmonary non-TB diseases (N ¼ 49); and 3) a control group (N ¼ 64) composed of individuals randomly selected among the extrapulmonary non-TB causes of death. The ribs, sterna, scapulae, and clavicles were macroscopically observed. New bone formation on the visceral surface of ribs was recorded in 90.5% (76/84) of individuals who died from pulmonary TB, in 36.7% (18/49) with a pulmonary non-TB disease as cause of death, and in 25.0% (16/64) of the control group. These differences were statistically sig- nificant (P < 0.001). Furthermore, in individuals with pul- monary TB, the bony lesions presented mainly as lamellar bone on the vertebral end of the upper and middle thoracic rib cage. Proliferative alterations also occurred on one sternum and in nine clavicles and eight scapulae. This work strongly supports the results of similar studies per- formed on other documented collections, suggesting that new bone formation on ribs, although not pathognomonic, is a useful criterion for the differential diagnosis of pulmo- nary TB. Am J Phys Anthropol 130:190-200, 2006. V C 2005 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

/pdf/on-the-trail-of-pulmonary-tuberculosis-based-on-rib-lesions-3k76qmhwcq.pdf

On the trail of pulmonary tuberculosis based on rib lesions: results from the Human Identified Skeletal Collection from the Museu Bocage (Lisbon, Portugal).

https://estudogeral.sib.uc.pt/bitstream/10316/12889/1/Mycocerosic%20acid%20biomarkers%20for%20the%20diagnosis.pdf

Mycocerosic acid biomarkers for the diagnosis of tuberculosis in the Coimbra Skeletal Collection.

Tese de doutoramento em Antropologia, apresentada a Faculdade de Ciencias e Tecnologia da Universidade de Coimbra

Ana Luísa Santos

Papers

A picture of tuberculosis in young Portuguese people in the early 20th century: A multidisciplinary study of the skeletal and historical evidence

Anatomy of a serial killer: differential diagnosis of tuberculosis based on rib lesions of adult individuals from the Coimbra Identified Skeletal Collection, Portugal.

On the trail of pulmonary tuberculosis based on rib lesions: results from the Human Identified Skeletal Collection from the Museu Bocage (Lisbon, Portugal).

Mycocerosic acid biomarkers for the diagnosis of tuberculosis in the Coimbra Skeletal Collection.

A skeletal picture of tuberculosis: macroscopic, radiological, biomolecular, and historical evidence from the Coimbra identified skeletal collection