Keck Medicine of USC, a network of hospitals in the Los Angeles area, recently received two unusual patients. One had a problem with their back, the other had an issue with their hip—both were over a thousand years old, and very dead.
Two Egyptian mummies underwent full-body computed tomography (CT) scans, which doctors today use to identify injuries and signs of disease. Needless to say, back in the mummies’ day (the Ptolemaic Period, 332-30 BCE, or thereabouts), no such technology existed—unless it was left behind by the same aliens who built the pyramids thousands of years earlier. This particular imaging technique revealed details hidden to the naked eye, as well as to previous, less advanced scans.
Nes-Hor in the CT scanner. © Ricardo Carrasco III“These mummies were scanned previously, but due to advancements in scanning technology, the results are much more detailed and extensive than ever before,” Summer Decker, Director of the Center for Innovation in Medical Visualization at the Keck School of Medicine of USC, said in a statement by the hospital network. “The high-resolution images have revealed things that were previously unknown and helped create a picture of what their lives were like,” she added. Keck participated in the scans and analysis.
Ancient Egyptian priests
The scanned individuals are Nes-Min and Nes-Hor, two Egyptian priests dating back to around 220 BCE and around 190 BCE, respectively. Their remains will be part of the California Science Center’s forthcoming exhibit, “Mummies of the World: The Exhibition.” Nes-Min fashions a beaded net, as well as beaded strands around his neck. They entered the scanning machine along with part of their sarcophagi, the scans peering through their linen shrouds and revealing features like lower lips and eyelids.
The images also unveiled crumpled lower back vertebrae in Nes-Min’s spine, probably from aging and “wear and tear,” according to the statement. He likely had lower back pain and, at the time of his death, was interred with a number of burial goods. As for his younger counterpart, Nes-Hor had dental problems and a deteriorated hip. The scans also showed that he met his end at an older age than Nes-Min.
Digital model of Nes-Hor’s head. © Photo courtesy of Keck Medicine of USC“Mummies have long been a mystery. Seeing beneath the surface to reveal the specific lived experience of individuals is incredibly exciting,” said Diane Perlov, an anthropologist at the California Science Center. “This modern scientific technology offers us a powerful window into the world of ancient people and past civilizations that might otherwise be lost.”
3D Models
A Keck Medicine of USC 3D digital model of Nes-Hor’s full body provides a clear view of his skeleton. © Keck Medicine of USCDecker and Jonathan Ford, Associate Director of the Center for Innovation in Medical Visualization, also at the Keck School of Medicine of USC, made digital 3D models of Nes-Min and Nes-Hor from their scans and printed physical, full-sized models of their spines, skulls, and hips, in addition to ones of Nes-Min’s artifacts.
Surgeons use these same technologies to create digital and physical models of living patients’ internal features. The physical models, in particular, help surgeons better understand a patient’s condition and even prepare for operations. According to Decker, they could also be useful for patients to interact with their own models. “They gain a new understanding of what their condition is and how it will be treated.”
Ancient Egyptians were no strangers to handling organs, both during the mummification process and after death, when they believed the weight of the deceased’s heart was compared to that of a feather. Still, I’m willing to bet Nes-Min and Nes-Hor never imagined their afterlife would have included a Los Angeles hospital.
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