Dolly the dinosaur - pathological vertebrae

3D Model

Neck bones of a sauropod dinosaur (MOR 7029) reveal pathology associated with a respiratory infection. These vertebrae show cauliflower-like pathology within the pneumatic fossae of the centra which, in life, housed air sacs connected to the lungs. The pathological bone is indicative of a bone infection (osteomyelitis) secondary to chronic infection of the pulmonary air sacs (airsacculitis) perhaps due to fungal infection (aspergillosis).

For more information, see the open-access article: Woodruff, D. C., E. D. S. Wolff, M. J. Wedel, S. Dennison, and L. M. Witmer. 2022. The first occurrence of an avian-style respiratory infection in a non-avian dinosaur. Scientific Reports 12:1954. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-05761-3

CT scanning courtesy of the Museum of the Rockies, Bozeman, MT. Sketchfab animation done by Ryan Ridgely & Lawrence Witmer.