17th-century infant's life and health revealed by 'virtual autopsy'

The person is Christa Lesté-Lasserre.

Researchers conducted a virtual autopsy on the mummified body of an infant born into an Austrian family in the 17th century.

Scans of the surprisingly well-preserved body revealed knobbly extensions on the rib joints typical of rickets, which probably helped the tissues mummify. According to the findings, the child was underfed and exposed to the sun, which led to his death.

The coffin was found in a crypt near a castle in Upper Austria. The child might have been helped by the stable temperature and constant air flow in the crypt. One of the very rare cases of an infant spontaneously mummified and available for a scientific investigation is here.

The researchers estimated that the child was buried around 400 years ago. The child was between 10 and 18 months old when it died, and they think it was the son of the Count of Starhemberg.

The researchers were able to confirm that the child was male based on the scans of his body.

His rib bones were Scans of his rib bones revealed a condition called rachitic rosary. Rickets is caused by a lack of vitamins D and E in the body. He may have had rickets because his leg bones weren't bowed. There was one arm bone that appeared bent.

He says the baby may have died of pneumonia, a disease that is more common in children with rickets.

An almost complete lack of sunlight exposure is one of the factors that can explain the combination of Obesity and a severe deficiency of vitamins.

Early infant death rates were high compared with today in upper social classes during the Renaissance, but it's not clear if this was common.

There is a journal reference in the field of medicine.