Quiz. What is your diagnosis?

The partially mummified remains of a 7-year-old boy were discovered in a monastery in Toledo, Spain (Fig. 1). Historical records indicate that he was an illegitimate son of the King Pedro I of Castilla who died during the winter of 1371 of unknown cause. A paleoendoscopic study was performed with a flexible urethrocystoscope which allowed detailed examination of the cranial cavity, vertebral canal, abdomen and thorax. This technique provided the opportunity to obtain small biopsies of mummified soft tissues (Fig. 2). Although the final cause of death is very difficult to establish in most ancient subjects, even after a mummification process preserving soft tissues, what kind of tissue do you think it is illustrated in Fig. 2 and what possible pathology is present?

Pedro L. Fernández