Gallery: Scanning Mummies for Heart Disease

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Scanning Hatiay

Mummy scan

(Image credit: Dr. Michael Miyamoto)

Hatiey scan

Mummy scan

(Image credit: Dr. Michael Miyamoto)

Researchers prepare the mummy Hatiey for a CT scan.

Maiherpri scan

Mummy scan

(Image credit: Dr. Michael Miyamoto)

The mummy Maiherpri undergoes scanning.

Maiherpri in sarcophagus

Mummy scan

(Image credit: Dr. Michael Miyamoto)

The mummy Maiherpri returned to the sarcophagus after scanning. All of the mummies reside at the Egyptian Museum in Cairo.

Maiherpri's feet

Mummy scan

(Image credit: Dr. Michael Miyamoto)

The individually wrapped toes of the mummy Maiherpri. Maiherpri lived between 1550 and 1295 BC.

Unknown mummy

Mummy scan

(Image credit: Dr. Michael Miyamoto)

An unknown mummy is prepped for the scanner.

Mummy hand

Mummy scan

(Image credit: Dr. Michael Miyamoto)

The hand and legs of an unknown mummy.

Mummy Djeher

Mummy scan

(Image credit: Dr. Michael Miyamoto)

Some mummies, like Djeher, who lived between 304 BC and 30 BC, were scanned still in their coffins.

Djeher's scan

Mummy scan

(Image credit: Dr. Michael Miyamoto)

The ancient Egyptian mummy Djeher as imaged with a CT scanner. Djeher was found to have heart artery and other vascular disease. Djeher lived between 304 and 30 BC. Another mummy with coronary artery disease, Princess Ahmose-Meryet-Amon, lived between 1580 and 1550 BC and is the oldest known case of human heart disease.

Stephanie Pappas
Stephanie Pappas
Live Science Contributor

Stephanie Pappas is a contributing writer for Live Science, covering topics ranging from geoscience to archaeology to the human brain and behavior. She was previously a senior writer for Live Science but is now a freelancer based in Denver, Colorado, and regularly contributes to Scientific American and The Monitor, the monthly magazine of the American Psychological Association. Stephanie received a bachelor's degree in psychology from the University of South Carolina and a graduate certificate in science communication from the University of California, Santa Cruz.