Traumatic lesions are commonly found in the archeological record and have potential to provide insight into the lives of past populations. This paper examines patterns of long bone fractures in the British medieval population of St. Helen-on-the-Walls from York (approximately 1100-1550) in an effort to determine patterns of healing and evidence for treatment. Long bones were macroscopically and radiologically examined. Clinical data were used to assess whether a fracture had successfully or unsuccessfully healed. The results indicate that fractures of the radius and ulna were most common. Males displayed more fractures than women. Most fractures were healed, well aligned, and without substantial deformity. Lack of evidence for deformity in bones likely to be severely affected by fracture implied that immobilization and possibly reduction was practiced on even the poorest residents of the medieval city.

An assessment of the presence and patterns of porotic hyperostosis and periosteal reactions in the skeletal population (n = 1,014) from St. Helen-on-the-Walls, York, are used to examine health and disease in urban medieval England. The analyses of these two lesions indicate that 58% of the population display evidence of porotic hyperostosis and that 21.5% of the population display periosteal reactions. Through differential diagnosis it is asserted that porotic hyperostosis is associated with iron-deficiency anemia, and that periosteal reactions may be the result of endemic treponematosis and/or non-specific infection, including parasitic infestation. An association between the presence of remodeled lesions and adulthood is noticeable for both porotic hyperostosis and periosteal reactions, as is a pattern of increased average age at death for those displaying both conditions.

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