Mummy of Queen Nefertari undergoes CT scan in Kansas City
Mummy on display at Nelson Atkins next month
Mummy on display at Nelson Atkins next month
Mummy on display at Nelson Atkins next month
Saint Luke's Hospital in Kansas City helped scan the remains of a queen for an upcoming museum exhibit.
For the first time ever, the mummified remains, believed to belong to Egyptian Queen Nefertari, underwent a CT scan.
Nefertari was the first wife of Ramesses II, also known as Ramses the Great, who ruled from 1279 to 1213 BC.
Nefertari is believed to have died in 1255 BC when she was 40 to 50 years old. According to the History Channel, Egyptologists rank her among the most celebrated female rulers in Ancient Egyptian history alongside Hatshepsut, Nefertiti and Cleopatra.
Dr. Randall Thompson, a cardiologist at Saint Luke's, participated in the scan early Tuesday, and this isn't the first mummy he's examined.
"One of the main things we're looking for is if there's any arterial disease in the leg," Thompson said. "It's amazing. If there's calcium in the arteries, it lays down, and 3,000 years later you can still see it in a CT scan.
"You can look across the ages and determine health and disease," he said.
Thompson said X-rays were done on Nefertari's leg five years ago, and doctors at that time believed they had identified calcium in those X-rays.
In his initial review of the CT scan, Thompson said he also believes he sees calcium, but he and a team of anthropologists will spend time studying those scans to learn more.
Nefertari's legs are the only known parts of her mummy to be found. They will be on exhibit at the Nelson-Atkins Museum in Kansas City starting on Nov. 15, and running through March.