| Title |
Osteomyelitis in a Paleozoic reptile: ancient evidence for bacterial infection and its evolutionary significance
|
|---|---|
| Published in |
The Science of Nature, April 2011
|
| DOI | 10.1007/s00114-011-0792-1 |
| Pubmed ID | |
| Authors |
Robert R. Reisz, Diane M. Scott, Bruce R. Pynn, Sean P. Modesto |
| Abstract |
We report on dental and mandibular pathology in Labidosaurus hamatus, a 275 million-year-old terrestrial reptile from North America and associate it with bacterial infection in an organism that is characterized by reduced tooth replacement. Analysis of the surface and internal mandibular structure using mechanical and CT-scanning techniques permits the reconstruction of events that led to the pathology and the possible death of the individual. The infection probably occurred as a result of prolonged exposure of the dental pulp cavity to oral bacteria, and this exposure was caused by injury to the tooth in an animal that is characterized by reduced tooth replacement cycles. In these early reptiles, the reduction in tooth replacement is an evolutionary innovation associated with strong implantation and increased oral processing. The dental abscess observed in L. hamatus, the oldest known infection in a terrestrial vertebrate, provides clear evidence of the ancient association between terrestrial vertebrates and their oral bacteria. |
X Demographics
The data shown below were collected from the profiles of 34 X users who shared this research output. Click here to find out more about how the information was compiled.
Geographical breakdown
| Country | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| Japan | 12 | 35% |
| France | 4 | 12% |
| Unknown | 18 | 53% |
Demographic breakdown
| Type | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| Members of the public | 31 | 91% |
| Scientists | 3 | 9% |
Mendeley readers
The data shown below were compiled from readership statistics for 47 Mendeley readers of this research output. Click here to see the associated Mendeley record.
Geographical breakdown
| Country | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| Argentina | 1 | 2% |
| Unknown | 46 | 98% |
Demographic breakdown
| Readers by professional status | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| Researcher | 9 | 19% |
| Student > Ph. D. Student | 7 | 15% |
| Student > Bachelor | 5 | 11% |
| Student > Master | 5 | 11% |
| Professor | 4 | 9% |
| Other | 9 | 19% |
| Unknown | 8 | 17% |
| Readers by discipline | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| Earth and Planetary Sciences | 17 | 36% |
| Agricultural and Biological Sciences | 9 | 19% |
| Medicine and Dentistry | 6 | 13% |
| Environmental Science | 2 | 4% |
| Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology | 1 | 2% |
| Other | 0 | 0% |
| Unknown | 12 | 26% |
Attention Score in Context
This research output has an Altmetric Attention Score of 32. This is our high-level measure of the quality and quantity of online attention that it has received. This Attention Score, as well as the ranking and number of research outputs shown below, was calculated when the research output was last mentioned on 03 February 2023.
All research outputs
#1,248,484
of 25,660,026 outputs
Outputs from The Science of Nature
#174
of 2,274 outputs
Outputs of similar age
#4,436
of 110,334 outputs
Outputs of similar age from The Science of Nature
#1
of 20 outputs
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