For some time now, scientists have been busy trying to determine the cause of death of this woman. A research was done on this mummy's skull. The study estimated that the woman's death was due to cancer. This is a discovery that has puzzled cancer experts and Egyptian scientists.
In the 19th and 20th centuries, it was speculated that the mummy belonged to a male priest. But when the Warsaw Mummy Project researched it, it was actually a woman's mummy. Even more surprising is that it is the world's first pregnant mummy. No pregnant mummy had been found before.
The embryo was preserved in the womb
Earlier this year, a CT scan of the Mysterious Lady found evidence of an embryo in her womb. What is special is that the mummy's womb was highly acidic and the fetus was well protected due to its low oxygen content.
According to the researchers, they were having a lot of questions about the cause of death of the woman, so they decided to find out about it.
A scan of the skull revealed the cause of death
The skull of the pregnant mummy was scanned. The bones showed signs that the woman was suffering from cancer. The CT scan revealed a scar on the left side of the skull that doctors nowadays see in patients with nasopharyngeal cancer. It is a rare cancer that affects the back of the nose and mouth. Here a round wound of 7 mm diameter was seen. Which may have been caused by a tumor.
In addition, a large cavity was found in the bone of the face. Changes in the craniofacial bone in patients are also caused by nasopharyngeal cancer. However, in order to detect cancer, researchers need to thoroughly examine the mummy's tissue.
Remember, mummies have been found in the past that showed possible symptoms of cancer. In 2017, scientists discovered breast cancer and multiple myeloma in two ancient Egyptian mummies, the oldest known cases of cancer in the world.
