Remembering St. Louis individual-structural violence and acute bacterial infections in a historical anatomical collection.

ABSTRACT: Incomplete documentary evidence, variable biomolecular preservation, and limited skeletal responses have hindered assessment of acute infections in the past. This study was initially developed to explore the diagnostic potential of dental calculus to identify infectious diseases, however, the breadth and depth of information gained from a particular individual, St. Louis Individual (St.LI), enabled an individualized assessment and demanded broader disciplinary introspection of ethical research conduct. Here, we document the embodiment of structural violence in a 23-year-old Black and/or African American male, who died of lobar pneumonia in 1930s St. Louis, Missouri. St.LI exhibits evidence of systemic poor health, including chronic oral infections and a probable tuberculosis infection. Met

SUBMITTER: Austin RM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9527723 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature