Enchondromas in a Medieval Skeleton from southern Italy. An ancient benign tumor of the bones.

A skeleton from the medieval cemetery of Auricarro (Apulia, southern Italy) presented several neoplastic lesions of the left hand. These included a sizeable spindle-shaped swelling of the second metacarpal, a large roundish neoformation on the palmar surface of the first phalanx and an ovoidal neoformation on the base of the second phalanx External and radiological examination revealed a case of multiple osseous enchondromas of the left hand. This conclusion was supported by differential diagnosis considering several options: a rare chondromyxoid tumor of the hand, fibrous dysplasia, sarcoidosis of the fingers, and chondroma. Enchondromas are currently among the commonest benign tumors, but little is known about their presence in the past.