Frontal sinus osteoma in a 16th century skeleton from Zagreb, Croatia

The analysis of 16th century graves from Zagreb, Croatia, revealed a case of frontal sinus osteoma in a middle-aged female. This lesion was discovered during visual examination, due to postmortem breakage of the frontal bone. The significance of this finding is based on the fact that frontal sinus osteomas are very rarely reported in the palaeopathological literature, despite the fact that they account for 80% of all paranasal sinus osteomas in modern populations. This paper presents results of macroscopic and radiographic analyses of the lesion, accompanied by a detailed differential diagnosis. Although tumours are commonly considered diseases of modern lifestyles, the described case confirms their occurrence in the past.

► A case of frontal sinus osteoma from 16th century Zagreb is presented.
► The lesion was found in a female aged 35–50.
► The differential diagnosis includes osteoblastoma, ossifying fibroma and osteosarcoma.
► Frontal sinus osteomas are rarely found in archaeological populations.