Thesis (Ph.D.)--Victoria University of Wellington, 2010. / Includes bibliographical references.

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Physical examination education begins early for medical learners. A hindrance to physical exam competency is lack of exposure to pathology in standardized patient settings. This research focuses on improving medical education through the utilization of cadavers that have undergone a soft-embalming technique: the Thiel method. Three scenarios were created in four Thiel cadavers: anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) tear, posterior cruciate ligament (PCL) tear, and sham incision. Students were asked to diagnose ACL tears using the Lachman exam. A total of 54 learners participated in the study. Post-surveys indicated most learners: (1) prefer to use standardized patients (SPs) and soft-embalmed cadavers in their physical examination courses, (2) increased their confidence in performing the Lachman exam on real patients, and (3) enhanced their Lachman technique. SPs ultimately cannot volitionally reproduce the physical exam findings of ACL deficiency. Consequently, learners cannot accurately identify positive versus negative examination findings. Thiel-embalmed cadavers are a valuable resource for physical examination education. (Journal of Surgical Orthopaedic Advances 30(2):112-115, 2021).

This paper deals with the embalming process in ancient Egypt. Samples were collected from six objects from Medelhavsmuseet in Stockholm. The objects were one supposed ladle and five different contents from pottery. Fourier transform infrared spectrometry (FTIR) and gas- chromatography/mass spectrometry was used to characterize the components of the materials. The result was then correlated with previously made analysis of embalming materials to discover similarities. The results show complex mixtures mainly consisting of resin from Pinaceae origin, also beeswax, vegetable oil and Castor oil. Some samples show differences in the mixture, one dominated by cholesterylacetat. The results of the ladle samples is comparable to previous samples from other analysis and can therefore be confirmed as an embalming ladle.

La méthode de conservation des cadavres selon Walter Thiel a été publiée en 1992. Cette technique, contrairement aux techniques classiques, permet de garder au cadavre une certaine souplesse, proche du sujet vivant. Depuis sa description initiale, cette technique s’est peu développée, malgré des possibilités très intéressantes pour les cliniciens soucieux d’apprendre et de perfectionner leurs gestes médico-chirurgicaux par simulation. En effet, la simulation en médecine est en train d’apporter une révolution pédagogique afin que les étudiants n’apprennent plus directement sur le patient les gestes à potentiel iatrogène important, mais sur des simulateurs. La question soulevée par notre travail est celle de ce double paradoxe : la technique de Thiel est très intéressante mais pourtant ne se développe pas beaucoup, et d’autre part, la simulation connait un essor considérable mais ne prend pas beaucoup en compte le potentiel de l’apprentissage sur cadavres. A la lumière de plusieurs travaux explorant divers aspects de la méthode de Thiel, nous démontrerons les possibilités des cadavres conservés par cette méthode en termes d’applications cliniques pour l’enseignement et la recherche par simulation en anesthésie et en chirurgie. / Walter Thiel’s method for the preservation of cadavers was published in 1992. Unlike conventional preservation techniques, this method provides a spectacular lifelike flexibility. Despite of its interesting possibilities in learning and training for clinical practitioners, this technique has had a poor development around the world. Simulation represents a revolution in medical education because it allows students to train before act on real patients, particularly the situations with a high iatrogenic risk. The question raised by our work is that this double paradox: the Thiel’s method is very interesting but still not well developed, and secondly, the simulation has expanded enormously but does not take much account of the potential learning on cadavers. In several studies exploring various aspects of Thiel’s method, we will demonstrate the possibilities of cadavers preserved by this method in terms of clinical applications for teaching and research in the fields of simulation in anesthesia and surgery.

This paper aims to investigate the embalming process and the Balanites aegyptiaca from two pottery originated in ancient Egypt. The two objects were from Medelhavsmuseet in Stockholm. Samples were collected and analyzed with Fourier transform infrared spectrometry (FTIR) and Gas chromatography/mass spectrometry to identify which components the samples contained. The results show complex mixtures mainly consisting of resin origin from Pinaceae and the vegetable oils from the Balanites aegyptiaca.

L’étude des pratiques mortuaires de l’ère chrétienne est un champ de recherche largement exploré par les historiens et les archéologues. Pourtant, en dépit d’une certaine tendance scientifique actuelle à questionner les rapports homme/milieu, aucune étude n’aborde la pompe funèbre dans une optique ethnobotanique. Cette enquête diachronique reconstitue les accessoires végétaux que la société puise dans son environnement pour accompagner le cadavre. Une méthodologie est développée pour la reconnaissance des micro- et macro-restes végétaux, en particulier le pollen, appliquée aux vestiges de huit sites archéologiques français et italiens (Ier-XVIIe s). Ces données, parfois éclairées par les sources écrites, livrent des informations inédites sur deux types de pratiques. D’une part, des dépôts végétaux constitués d’espèces florales accompagnent le corps des défunts et lui confèrent une image plus éclatante du point de vue visuel et olfactif, y compris dans les milieux sociaux les plus humbles. Ces données invitent les archéologues à considérer l’existence d’un mobilier funéraire peu connu jusqu’alors. D’autre part, les végétaux sont utilisés pour l’embaumement interne des plus privilégiés. L’opération transforme chirurgicalement la dépouille, et les chairs sont apaisées par le baume, une préparation dans laquelle les plantes jouent un rôle prédominant en vertu de leurs propriétés médicinales, olfactives, et symboliques. Ce travail pose les bases méthodologiques d’une archéobotanique funéraire. Les origines anciennes des pratiques mises en évidence devront à présent être reconstituées, mais c’est aussi leur rémanence dans la société contemporaine qu’il conviendra d’analyser. / Roman and Christian mortuary practices are widely explored by historians and archaeologists in Western Europe. Considered as a relic of a social being, the dead body contributes to a better understanding of human communities and cultures. However, even if Man-Environment interactions are now a central issue of the scientific research, no study has questioned funerary behaviors in an ethnobotanical perspective yet. This work aims to reconstitute plant accessories that people collect in their environment to treat the corpse and modify its appearance or its anatomical and biological properties. An original methodology is set up to sample and analyze macro and microbotanical remains, especially pollen, from Roman, Medieval and Modern tombs (1st-17th centuries AD) excavated on eight archaeological sites in France and in Italy. These archaeobotanical data confronted with written sources shed light on two kinds of practices.On the one hand, plant materials such as floral arrangements, litter and cushion made of colorful and fragrant species accompany the defunct into the grave. These tributes modify the sensory perception of the corpse and materialize devotion to the deceased, even in more humble social backgrounds. These results invite archaeologists to consider a new and unexpected kind of grave goods during fieldwork and laboratory analysis.On the other hand, plants are used for embalming into elite social circles. In Europe this practice, most likely originated in Ancient Times, is accurately documented by written and archaeological sources between the 14th century and the early 19th century. Evisceration and excerebration procedures physically transform the corpse, then the flesh and the skin are treated with an aromatic balm composed by many plants and exudates such as wormwood, mint, myrrh and frankincense. Surgeons appeal to medicinal, olfactory and symbolic properties of plants in order to stop the decay process and honor the body.This work lays foundation for an ethno-archaeobotany of death and brings some elements to understand the relationship between the dead body and its plant environment. Ancient origins of these mortuary practices now need to be identified. Moreover their persistence in contemporary society could also be analyzed through an ethno-sociological approach.

This paper deals with the chemical identification of artefacts correlated with the process of ancient Egyptian mummification dating to the Graeco-Roman period. The samples were harvested from two artefacts belonging to the Museum of Mediterranean and Near Eastern Antiquities in Stockholm. The original description of the said samples defined them, as natron filled linen bags and bee product (honey?). To identify the true nature of the samples, advanced methods such as Fourier transform infrared spectrometry (FTIR), gas chromatography/mass spectrometry and powder X-ray Diffractometry were used. The results were correlated with previous made analyses regarding embalming materials to discover similarities. Furthermore, the research revealed that the previous sample identifications were false, while providing hypotheses based on the new results.

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This study was about death rituals among the Karanga of Nyajena, Masvingo, Zimbabwe, who are a sub-group of the Shona people. This inquiry’s primary purpose was tripartite in outlook. First, it described the Karanga causes of sickness and death, and Karanga death rituals. Second, it explored the significance of these rituals to the Karanga people. Third, the study traced and identified the changes in the practice and significance of some of the rituals. The overall goal of this inquiry was to compose a brief manual for the performance of some of the Karanga death rituals. The inquiry divided the Karanga death rituals into three major categories, namely, pre-burial rituals, burial rituals, and post-burial rituals. The investigation employed qualitative research traditions, particularly ethnography, in the collection and interpretation of the relevant research data, in pursuit of the goals mentioned above. Postcolonial theory was used to give a theoretical framework to this study. This study was necessitated by the need of a written manual on the performance of Karanga death rituals. The study compiled the participants’ narratives concerning the praxis, meaning, and changes in the Karanga death rituals in an attempt to analyze and write them down for posterity. The inquiry found out that although the praxis of the rituals was still rememberd by many Karanga people, some of them were no longer performed, and their significance had been lost. Although the study acknowledged the inevitable dynamism of culture, it held that every ethnicity should have some cultural or religious constants so that its identity is not lost. Hence, the Karanga of Nyajena should retrace their footsteps back to their death rituals in order to rediscover and reaffirm their battered cultural identity and integrity. / Religious Studies and Arabic / D. Phil. (Religious Studies)