Abstract

Background: The Camarones River Valley, located in the extreme north of Chile, is characterized by high environmental arsenic levels and an arid desert. It has been inhabited by humans for the past 7,000 years. Evidence exists for chronic arsenic poisoning in both prehispanic and present populations residing in the area. Chronic arsenic exposure causes multi-systemic problems and can induce congenital malformations, in particular neural tube development defects such as spina bifda. Aim: To study the prevalence of spina bifda among prehispanic mummies of the area. Material and Methods: Onehundred and twenty prehistoric adult individuals were analyzed for evidence of spina bifda occulta of the sacrum in skeletal samples from the sites of Camarones 8, Camarones 9, Azapa 140 and Lluta 54, held in repository at the Museo Universidad de Tarapac