The mummy of an ancient Egypt woman, who may have been pregnant when she died, may also have had cancer.
Further tests are needed to confirm that the mummy's tumor was a cancer.
Thebes was the ancient Egyptian city where the mummy is thought to have come from. The sarcophagus of a male priest was where it was found.
The remains of an unknown female were found in the sarcophagus after it was opened for the first time. They started analyzing the body for clues as to why she had been sealed up.
The world's first known pregnant mummy was said to have the remains of a fetus inside her womb, according to a study released in April 2021. The team estimated that the woman died at the 28th week of her pregnancies.
The Polish team wrote a follow-up paper in January of 2022. Some experts have questioned whether the mummy was pregnant at all and have suggested that the fetus may be a warped pack, which was placed in the body during the mummification process.
For the first time in 3000 years, the mummy of famous Egyptian pharaoh was unwrapped.
According to a post on the Warsaw Mummy Project's website, the Mysterious Lady may have had cancer in her mouth, nose, and throat.
The findings from the mummy's skull have not yet been peer reviewed or confirmed by chemical tests.
The researchers became aware of the potential cancer after a recent 3D reconstruction of the Mysterious Lady's skull.
(M.Ożarek-Szilke/Warsaw Mummy Project)
There is a small hole in the mummy's skull.
Marzena Oarek-Szilke, an anthropologist at the Medical University of Warsaw and co-director of the Warsaw Mummy Project, told Live Science that the gap was caused by a tumor growing there.
Oarek-Szilke said that the hole could have been caused by a cyst or a lack of iron which can affect the eye sockets.
Cancer is most likely to be caused by small bones in the nose, jaw, and sinuses.
It's not possible to tell what caused the skull to be different. Soft tissue still clings to her bones because she was so well preserved.
Researchers will be able to use this tissue to determine if the Mysterious Lady had cancer.
Other types of cancer have been found in mummies. A definitive result is expected by the end of the year.
The death of the Mysterious Lady could have been caused by cancer. It is not certain if cancer was the cause of her death. She said that it is possible that the unborn child played a part in her death.
It is rare to find how a person died.
Oarek-Szilke said that when examining human remains, they always wonder what happened to the dead person. We don't often find a solution to this question.
There is still more to know about the Mysterious Lady, such as why she was found in the wrong coffin and who she was.
Oarek-Szilke said there was another piece of the puzzle. We are missing a few things.
There are related content.
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A mummy has a gold-foil tongue in a sealed tomb.
There are mummies inside a structure.
The original article was published by Live Science. The original article can be found here.
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