FIXATION The Key to Good Tissue Preservation

Mummification is one of man's earliest methods of human tissue preservation. Mummification is a term loosely used to describe different methods used by ancient civilizations to prepare human remains for burial. Various methods of preservation have been described in many articles. Some mummies which have been studied by scientists have become quite famous not only for their part in history as individuals, but also for the wealth of medical information obtained from their mummified bodies. Autopsies performed on mummies have given great insight into medical problems of earlier civilizations. For example, a leading cause of death in Pre-Columbian peoples, going back over 5000 years, was pneumonia. Also noted were lung abscesses, pericarditis, and endocarditis, as well as tuberculosis. These studies have prompted scientists to ponder about which diseases were present before the arrival of Europeans in America.