Napoleon Bonaparte died at age 52 after he was exiled to St. Helena.
It was thought he died arsenic poisoning from some arsenic found in his hair in 1961. However scientists now say he died from an advanced case of gastric cancer.
After studying autopsy reports and his physician memoirs, eyewitness accounts, and family medical histories, it was found that gastrointestinal bleeding was the immediate cause of death.
The original autopsy said he had
two ulcerated lesions: a large one on the stomach and a smaller one that had pierced through the stomach wall and reached the liver.
Scientists now compared the
description of these lesions with current images of 50 benign ulcers and 50 gastric cancers and found that his were cancerous.
It was a huge mass from the entrance of his stomach to the exit. It was at least 10 centimeters [4 inches] long.Size alone suggests the lesion was cancer." said Robert Genta, the lead study author.
They said that if he was in todays world being treated for what he had he would have died within a year. His cancer they believe was caused by an ulcer-causing bacterial infection.
Amazing what they are able to do and find out after all these years.
