Anat Cell Biol.  2014 Mar;47(1):66-72. 10.5115/acb.2014.47.1.66.

Harris lines observed in human skeletons of Joseon Dynasty, Korea

• Beom J
• Woo EJ
• Lee IS
• Kim MJ
• Kim YS
• Oh CS
• Lee SS
• Lim SB
• Shin DH

• KMID: 2168858
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.5115/acb.2014.47.1.66

Abstract

The Harris line (HL), caused by bone-growth arrest and manifesting on X-rays as a radiopaque transverse line in the metaphysis of the long bones, is an indicator reflecting stress conditions such as disease or malnutrition. HL frequency has been assumed to differ between pre-modern and modern societies, as reflective of increased caloric intake and overall nutritional improvements attendant on industrialization. To determine if such a change occurred in Korea, in the present study we compared the respective HL statuses in medieval Joseon and modern Korean population samples. HLs were found in 39.4% (28/71) of the Joseon Koreans. Whereas only 27.5% (11/40) of the males showed an HL, fully 54.8% (17/31) of the females exhibited it. Notably, HLs were observed in only 16.4% (35/213) of the modern Koreans; more remarkably still, the HL rate was almost the same between the sexes, 16.7% (20/120) for the males and 16.1% (15/93) for the females. The HL frequency was much higher in the Joseon Koreans than in their modern counterparts, reflecting the improvement of nutritional status that had been achieved in the course of South Korea's modernization. This HL-frequency decrease was much more obvious in the female populations. The higher HL frequency among the Joseon females might reflect the relatively poor nutritional condition of females in pre-modern Korean society.

Keyword

Harris line; Long bone; Tibia; Nutritional status; Joseon Dynasty; Republic of Korea

MeSH Terms

Energy Intake
Female
Humans*
Korea*
Male
Malnutrition
Nutritional Status
Republic of Korea
Skeleton*
Social Change
Tibia

Figure

• 

  Fig. 1 An example of Harris lines (HLs) seen on the radiograph of a Joseon Korean (A, B) and modern Korean (C, D). Harris lines (thin arrows) are observed in the distal tibia. Physeal scar (thick arrows) is not counted as HL.

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