What 'Virtual Autopsy' Revealed About Health Of A 17th Century Mummified Baby

A toddler who had been mummified had his cause of death determined roughly 400 years after his death. The baby was found buried in a wooden coffin, mummified with his soft tissue preserved, in an Austrian family mausoleum.

"The 'virtual autopsy' has identified a 17th-century mummified toddler as the first-born son of a powerful Austrian count. Researchers found the child, despite being born to a wealthy family, was malnourished and sick with pneumonia when he died about 400 years ago," reported The Independent.

It further said that a team based in Germany examined the mummy, using state-of-the-art science alongside historical records to shed new light on Renaissance childhood.

Science Alert reported that for centuries, the crypt of one of the oldest aristocratic families in Austria has preserved a tragic secret.

"The male child was found mummified in a family crypt reserved for the Counts of Starhemberg, having been interred there somewhere between the middle of the 16th and 17th centuries. His tiny features are withered but detailed, his body is still wrapped in an elaborate silk garment," reported the online publication.

The Independent report said that the research team, led by Dr Andreas Nerlich of the Academic Clinic Munich-Bogenhausen, conducted the virtual autopsy and radiocarbon testing, and also examined family records and key material clues from the burial, to try to understand who the child was and what his short life looked like.

What is Virtopsy (virtual autopsy)?

According to the National Center for Biotechnology Information of the United States National Library of Medicine, Virtopsy (virtual autopsy) is a word combining 'virtual' and 'autopsy' and employs imaging methods that are also used in clinical medicine, such as computed tomography (CT), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), etc., for the purpose of autopsy and to find the cause of the death. Virtopsy can be employed as an alternative to standard autopsies for broad and systemic examination of the whole body as it is less time-consuming, aids in better diagnosis, and shows respect to religious sentiments.