It's not just humans and modern animals who suffer bone pains and ailments. Ancient dinosaurs also had to deal with arthritis and its associated aches and pains way back in the day -- septic arthritis, specifically.
The new study, which was published earlier this week, shows how a dinosaur found in what is now the southern part of New Jersey suffered from arthritis.
Arthritis is a common condition found in humans, crocodiles, and some birds. But this discovery is the first evidence of arthritic dinosaur, based on the findings on the animal's radius and ulna, which were the only bones recovered so far.
The specific species of the arthritic dinosaur is not yet determined, but researchers believe that it may have been a hadrosaur, or a duck-billed dinosaur.
Its two recovered bones had a peculiar bony growth with a similar texture to cauliflower. Researchers eventually discovered that the elbow joint, which had been fused after eroding away completely, shows a classical feature that suggested its arthritic condition.
It is possible that the dinosaur had a limp and that it may have suffered from great pain.
Since the part of New Jersey where the bones were found was submerged by ocean waters 70 million years ago, the dinosaur bones are very delicate. Also, fossils found in that area are susceptible to pyrite disease, a condition that could turn bone into dust even at the slightest touch.
The researchers noted that they aren't sure whether the dinosaur's septic arthritis spread to other parts of its skeleton just like it does in mammals. Modern reptiles, such as crocodiles, can be infected but the condition is typically localized to the point of infection.
Source: Modern Readers
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