Korean J Pathol.  2004 Dec;38(6):394-400.

Paleopathologic Analysis of a Mummified Pregnant Woman of Papyung Yoon's Family

• Jeong WY
• Shin BK
• Kim CH
• Kim I
• Kim WR
• Choe KS
• Uhm CS
• Hwang JJ
• Kim HK

Abstract

BACKGROUND: A mummy is a dead body of a human being or an animal that has been preserved artificially or naturally from decaying. Because the natural environment of Korea isn't appropriate for mummification and Korean people haven't artificially made mummies, mummies were rarely studied in Korea.
METHODS
On September 6, 2002, a well-preserved female mummy was found in the grave of a family in Kyunggi-do. She was submitted to a thorough autopsy examination along with the review of genealogical documents.
RESULTS
The mummy died in winter. She was pregnant and the fetal head was observed at the vaginal orifice. The uterine wall was ruptured, and the peritoneum was discolored, probably by hemorrhage. Histologically, the gastric mucosa was well preserved. On the smear cytology of gastrointestinal material and the fluid from the coffin, pollens and parasitic eggs were observed. The woman seemed to be death from hypovolemic shock due to uterine rupture during the 2nd phase of labor.
CONCLUSION
From this case, we concluded the causes of the woman's mummification included the cold and dry circumstance at the time of her death, and the thick mortared wall of the grave that completely isolated the body from the outside.

Keyword

Paleopathology; Mummies; Pregnant women; Autopsy

MeSH Terms

Animals
Autopsy
Eggs
Female
Gastric Mucosa
Gyeonggi-do
Head
Hemorrhage
Humans
Korea
Mummies
Ovum
Paleopathology
Peritoneum
Pollen
Pregnant Women*
Shock
Uterine Rupture