Identification of probable telangiectatic osteosarcoma from a dog skull from multicultural settlement Polwica-Skrzypnik in Lower Silesia, Poland

This report presents canid cranial skeletal pathology from an excavation associated with the Przeworsk culture (III c. BC – V c. AD). The dog skull, an intentional inhumation, was dated to the Roman influence and the Migration period (I – V c. AD. The dog was a relatively large animal with a shoulder height calculated as approximately 60 cm. Massive bone changes localized on the facial surface of the left maxilla required a multistage diagnostic protocol. In addition to traditional macroscopic and morphometric evaluation, we used modern diagnostic imaging techniques such as digital radiography, computed tomography and 3D reconstruction. These, along with histopathological studies, allowed us to identify a primary malignant bone tumor: telangiectatic osteosarcoma.