Rosalba Ciranni, Laura Giusti, Gino Fornaciari. Division of Paleopathology Department of Oncology, Transplants and Advanced Technologies in Medicine University of Pisa, Medical School The study of the almost skeletonized natural mummy of the famous 18th century musician Luigi Boccherini (1743-1805) made it possible to elaborate an ergonomic model based on the study of acquired muscle-skeletal lesions, relating to his intense activity as baroque cellist. External examination, macroscopic analysis and total body radiographic study showed a relevant number of suggestive changes, due to repetitive strain injuries (RSI), such as severe rhizoarthritis of the right thumb, heavy epicondylitis of the left elbow, loss of the physiological cervical and lumbar spine lordosis, high thoracic left scoliosis with maximum on T3-T4 and tibiae valgae. Elaboration of the ergonomic model was helped by direct and detailed observation and filming of the movements produced and of the positions acquired by a modern cellist during the performance of one of Boccherini’s adagios. Even though the present-day cello is structurally different from the baroque instrument, the results obtained from the ergonomic model can be partially superimposed to the contemporary cellist. Soft-tissues studies revealed two non-ergonomic pathologies: a severe aortic atherosclerosis and valium generic pleural and nodal calcifications. Histological examinations of the nodes allowed microscopic identification of the Mycobacterium tuberculosis bacillus, confirming the biographical data of Boccherini’s death from tuberculosis. At present the node is submitted to molecular study to identify and sequence mycobacterial DNA.

Luigi Boccherini