We have previously shown that parasite eggs have been identified in the coprolites of Korean mummies. These eggs have shed light on parasitic infection patterns in Korean populations living several hundred years ago. We conducted a scanning electron microscopy (SEM) study on ancient Trichuris trichiura, Ascaris lumbricoides, Metagonimus yokogawai, Paragonimus westermani, and Gymnophalloides seoi eggs recovered from Korean mummies of the Joseon Dynasty. We anticipated that the taphonomic conditions of mummification would alter the eggs of certain species but not of others. Our SEM data show that each species of ancient egg exhibited different degrees of preservation. Thus, some of them, for example, M. yokogawai, exhibited a better preservation status than others, suggesting that they should be the first candidates considered when choosing subjects for future paleoparasitological studies.

Our previous reports on medieval mummies in Korea have provided information on their preservation status.Because invasive techniques cannot easily be applied when investigating such mummies, the need for non-invasive techniques incurring minimal damage has increased among researchers. Therefore, we wished to confirm whether endoscopy, which has been used in non-invasive and minimally invasive studies of mummies around the world, is an effective tool for study of Korean mummies as well. In conducting an endoscopic investigation on a 15th-century child mummy, we found that well-preserved internal organs remained within the thoracic, abdominal and cranial cavities. The internal organs -including the brain, spinal cord, lung, muscles, liver, heart, intestine, diaphragm and mesentery -were easily investigated by endoscopy. Even the stool of the mummy, which accidentally leaked into the abdominal cavity during an endoscopic biopsy, was clearly observed. In addition, unusual nodules were found on the surface of the intestines and liver. Our current study therefore showed that endoscopic observation could provide an invaluable tool for the palaeo-pathological study of Korean mummies. This technique will continue to be used in the study of medieval mummy cases in the future.