Patologias associadas à coleção osteológica do Museu de História Natural e da Ciência da Universidade do Porto

: levantamento e definição

Abstract

Natural history museums and the collections they house are still today a fundamental tool for students and researchers, especially in the area of biological sciences, making these collections important and unique at the scientific level. Besides this importance, these collections have several functions, from exhibition, to scientific dissemination, and at a pedagogical level, making these collections and respective specimens unique and irreplaceable, and it is very important to ensure their preservation. Conservation and restoration within the context of natural history in Portugal is not very developed, unlike other areas, such as ceramics, sculpture, painting, among others. Some of these areas have already published illustrated glossaries of the pathologies that can be found there, promoting a standardization of the terminology used. This kind of information does not exist, in Portugal, for the area of natural history. The aim of the following dissertation is to create an illustrated glossary for the pathologies that can be found in the natural structure of zoological osteological collections (non-fossil), using as a case study the specimens from the Museu de História Natural e da Ciência (Museum of Natural History and Science) of the University of Porto. In addition to the illustrated glossary, it was possible to determine which are the most common pathologies in the osteological collection of the MHNC-UP, those being surface and adhered dirt, volumetric gaps, disarticulation and fractures. At the same time, a table was created for the classification of the pathologies, in order to make the diagnosis of the conservation status more objective.

Date of Award	17 Jan 2023
Original language	Portuguese
Awarding Institution	Universidade Católica Portuguesa
Supervisor	Eduarda Vieira (Supervisor), Joana Salgueiro (Co-Supervisor) & Luís Ceríaco (Co-Supervisor)