Dear AuntMinnie Member,
In a special Halloween treat for AuntMinnie.com members, today we bring you the chilling story of a mummy with a mysterious past, a dark tale that had baffled many an expert until the truth was brought to light -- by modern medical imaging technology.
Our story begins over 100 years ago, when notorious circus showman P. T. Barnum came into possession of Pa-Ib, which was reported to be a mummy some 2,500 years old. Touted to be of an Egyptian priest, the musty curiosity became the oldest artifact in Barnum's menagerie of the strange and bizarre.
Fast forward to the modern era, and a pair of intrepid scientists who set out to discover whether the Pa-Ib mummy was indeed authentic. The scientists found CT to be an ideal technology for conducting detailed examinations of the mummy without damaging the fragile artifact, according to an article by staff writer Heather Hokenson that we're featuring this week in our CT Digital Community.
How does the tale of Pa-Ib end? Crypt here to find out. And Happy Halloween!
![Axial images from unenhanced calcium score cardiac CT (left) and curved planar reformation images from CT angiography (right) show that higher long-term exposure to air pollution is associated with greater coronary artery calcium and more obstructive coronary artery disease (CAD). Top row: Images in a 68-year-old male patient with higher 10-year mean ambient air pollution exposure (7.9 μg/m3 for particulate matter measuring ≤2.5 μm in diameter [PM2.5] and 17.4 parts per billion [ppb] for NO2) with extensive CAD (coronary artery calcium score [CACS] >1,000 and obstructive CAD [≥70% diameter stenosis]). Bottom row: Images in a 57-year-old female patient with lower 10-year mean ambient air pollution exposure (6.3 μg/m3 for PM2.5 and 4.6 ppb for NO2) with no CAD (CACS = 0 and no obstructive stenosis).](https://img.auntminnie.com/mindful/smg/workspaces/default/uploads/2026/06/hanneman.r6SMLzkezo.png?auto=format%2Ccompress&dpr=2&fit=crop&h=167&q=70&w=250)
