Joint Diseases in Animal Paleopathology: Veterinary Approach

Animal paleopathology is not a very well known scientific discipline within veterinary science, but it has great importance for historical and archaeological investigations. In this paper, authors attention is focused on the description of one of the most common findings on the skeletal remains of animals - osteoarthropathies. This review particularly emphasizes the description and classification of the most common pathological changes in synovial joints. The authors have provided their observations on the importance of joint diseases in paleopathology and veterinary medicine. Analysis of individual processes in the joints of the animals from the past may help in the understanding of diseases in modern veterinary medicine. Differential diagnosis was made a point of emphasis and discussion, so that this work could have practical significance for paleopathology and veterinary medicine.