Typology of the Schmorl’s nodes – methodology, anthropological approach and clinical significance

Schmorl’s nodes are defined as pathological changes on the vertebral bodies associated with genetic inheritance, mechanical injuries, traumas and causes of unclear. In the paleopathological literature, these lesions are strongly related to lifestyle, mostly with hard physical labor ; therefore they are often used as indicators of physical stress in archaeological populations. A long-term anthropological and statistical analysis has been started in 2015, on the osteological material of the medieval cemetery of Perkata, curated at the Hungarian National Museum, Budapest. Our research goal is to define typology of Schmorl's node in order to understand and explain their possible etiology. Until now, 500 vertebrae have been systematically recorded and analyzed with macro- and microscopic visual methods. Schmorl’s nodes, based on their morphology, could be divided into four types (A, B, C and D) and preliminary results showed at the different frequencies of these morphological categories. The most frequent (B) is characterized by sharp and clear edges -, which can be associated with advanced hernia, pointing at strong mechanical loads on the vertebrae through a short period of time (e.g. sudden movement under load, rotations of body). Defining different types of Schmorl’s nodes allows us to identify different mechanical stress events and also the way and the quality of life of individuals can be recognized. In the next phase of the research, comparative analyses will be conducted in order to identify differences in mechanical stress associated with different functional biomechanics of the human spine and general muscle-bone-joint system in different populations.