#Human tail skin#

“Due to the common ectodermal origin between the skin and the central nervous system, it is essential that the paediatrician or pediatric surgeon investigate the presence of hidden spinal dysraphism in patients with suspected skin lesions, as they may be the only visible abnormality and early diagnosis can prevent evolution to severe neurological changes,” it added. The birth of a baby with a tail can cause tremendous psychological disturbance to the parents.

'The presence of a true human tail in neonates is a rare congenital anomaly and should be investigated through physical and radiological examinations in a comprehensive manner,' the journal article mentions. Before the delivery, an ultrasound revealed no concerns or signs regarding a tail being attached to the child's nervous system. The report says the unidentified infant was delivered at 35 weeks without any complications. The case is extremely rare, as it was said that there have only been about 40 documented cases of children being born with true, boneless, tails in history. The tail, in this particular case, continued to grow.īy the time the child was born prematurely at 35 weeks, he sported a 6-inch posterior protuberance with a 1.5 inch-wide ball at the tip like a meaty medieval mace, Daily Mail reported.ĭoctors who examined the baby noted the tail contained no parts made of cartilage and bone, meaning it was a rare example of a true human tail.

However, the growth is quickly absorbed by the body, culminating in the creation of the tailbone. The unnamed infant’s “epic tail” began sprouting in the womb where, like all babies, he developed an embryonic appendage around four to eight weeks after gestation. A ccording to a case study in the Journal of Pediatric Case Surgery Reports, There are very few babies ever to be born with a true human tail. This tail is most prominent in human embryos 3135 days old. As a tertiary medical institution with a commitment to medical education and research, Neurosurgery, GPHC will be presenting this case to the global medical community for documentation and review.Doctors in Brazil were left flabbergasted over the case of a boy born with a true human tail - a “rare congenital anomaly.' All mammals have a tail at some point in their development in humans, it is present for a period of 4 weeks, during stages 14 to 22 of human embryogenesis.

While a human baby having a caudal appendage resembling a tail generates an unusual amount of interest, excitement, and anxiety – often, parents may be concerned about the social stigma, superstition or shame that may befall their young child when they are integrated into society.ĭue to its extremely rare presentation, the occurrence of the human tail is a phenomenon of great interest to both the lay and medical community. The 10-day-old baby was born with a tail which is basically a continuation of the spine/spinal nerve elements, this was surgically removed to allow the child an opportunity to develop normally. Matter How Humans Lost Their Tails A new study suggests that a single genetic mutation helps explain why monkeys have tails, while apes and people do not. The infant has since been discharged from the hospital. Amarnauth Dukhi successfully performed a procedure to remove the tail and reconstruct the spinal canal of a 10-day-old infant boy – a sophisticated technique which also required the protection of the patient’s spinal nerves. On June 18, 2023, a medical team at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC) led by Chief Neurosurgeon, Dr.

The rare ‘Human Tail’ that was successfully removed from the 10-day-old infant at GPHC However, the etiological basis of the human tail is not clear yet. The reported presentations of spinal dysraphism includes spina bifida occulta, meningocele, and spinal lipoma or tethered spinal cord. The human tail is usually considered as a marker of underlying pathology of peculiar spinal dysraphism.

A rare congenital anomaly which mostly presents immediately after birth or in early childhood, there are less than 60 cases documented in medical literature of caudal appendage or the human tail. The unique presentation of a pathology such as the “human tail” is not only rare in Guyana, but the world. Abstract: The birth of a child with a caudal appendage resembling a tail generates an unusual interest and anxiety. See below for a statement from the Georgetown Public Hospital on the successful removal of a very rare medical phenomenon of Human Tail on a 10-day-old infant by Team Neurosurgery:

Human tail