La diagnostica per immagini nello studio della popolazione della Cripta della Ca’ Granda

The large number of commingled bones and skeletons found in the burial ground of the Ospedale Maggiore Ca’ Granda in Milan represents a heritage of inestimable value The skeletal remains offer the possibility of investigating anthropological and paleopathological aspects on the patients of the hospital in the period between the seventeenth and the eighteenth century. In the archaeological field, the use of radiological imaging techniques has played an increasingly important role in assisting both anthropological and paleopathological investigations. In these contexts, radiological investigations are mainly used to investigate bone alterations previously noted at a macroscopic level, but also potential changes localized in structures, hidden from naked eye observation. In so doing, it is possible to analyze in detail various pathological conditions such as those linked to trauma, infectious, metabolic or neoplastic diseases. In particular, for the alterations affecting bones, radiological investigations are very important to trace the period in which they occurred with respect to the death of the individual. Modern diagnostic imaging techniques (Computed Tomography) have also been used to study some of the numerous bone remains found in the cemetery of the Ospedale Maggiore Ca’ Granda in Milan.