古病理学是一门新兴的交叉学科, 涉及病理学、生物学、体质人类学、考古学等领域。近年来, 中生代古脊椎动物的研究案例日益增加, 在化石骨骼上发现了破坏、体积变化、变形、增生和肿瘤, 其提供的信息愈发引起学术界关注。中国的中生代脊椎动物化石记录相当丰富, 已经在恐龙类(包括: 鸟类)、有鳞类、似哺乳爬行类中发现了骨折、划咬伤及感染、椎体融合、关节炎及牙病等疾病记录。具有古病理学特征的标本在中国尚有较大的发现与研究空间。本文介绍了病理学的主要研究方法和国际研究进展, 并以已发现的中国中生代脊椎动物化石的骨骼古病理学实例为基础, 分析讨论这些病变的致病原理、潜在的行为学信息及其病变对动物生存和生态的影响, 展望了该交叉学科的发展方向, 包括: 利用病理研究古生物的形态功能、社会性行为等。

Palaeopathology is a relatively new and interdisciplinary subject, involving pathology, biology, physical anthropology, ar-chaeology, and other fields. Over the past few years, more and more Mesozoic vertebrate paleontological records have been studied. Information found on fossilized bones, through the research of destruction, volume change, deformation, hyperplasia and tumor, has attracted increasing attention around the world. Diseases such as fractures, scratches and infections, vertebral fusion, arthritis, and dental disease have been reported in dinosaurs (including aves), squamates, and mammal-like reptiles from China. The current study of specimens with palaeopathological characteristics has more potential for further discussion and research in China. This paper introduces the major research methods and international progress of palaeopathology based on the skeletal palaeopathological records of the Mesozoic vertebrate fossils from China, analyzing the pathogenetic princi-ples, potential behavioral information, and effects of these lesions on animal survival and ecology. An overview of the re-search methods of pathology and potential future directions (e.g., using pathology to study the morphological function and social behavior of vertebrates) is presented.

国家自然科学基金项目(41888101, 41790455)资助