Polymelia
Encyclopedia
Polymelia is a birth defect involving limbs (a type of dysmelia
), in which the affected individual has more than the usual number of limb
s. In humans and most land-dwelling animals, this means having five or more limbs. The extra limb is most commonly shrunken and/or deformed.
Sometimes an embryo started as conjoined twins
, but one twin degenerated completely except for one or more limbs, which end up attached to the other twin.
Sometimes small extra legs between the normal legs are caused by the body axis forking in the dipygus
condition.
s, winged horse
s, and griffin
s have six limbs: four legs and two wings. The dragon's science is discussed in Dragons: A Fantasy Made Real.
Sleipnir
, Odin's horse from Norse mythology, has eight normal horse legs, and is usually depicted with limbs twinned at the shoulder or hip.
Several Hindu
deities are depicted with multiple arms and legs.
Dysmelia
Dysmelia is a congenital disorder referring to the limbs. -Types:Dysmelia can refer to*missing limbs: amelia, oligodactyly, congenital amputation...
), in which the affected individual has more than the usual number of limb
Limb (anatomy)
A limb is a jointed, or prehensile , appendage of the human or other animal body....
s. In humans and most land-dwelling animals, this means having five or more limbs. The extra limb is most commonly shrunken and/or deformed.
Sometimes an embryo started as conjoined twins
Conjoined twins
Conjoined twins are identical twins whose bodies are joined in utero. A rare phenomenon, the occurrence is estimated to range from 1 in 50,000 births to 1 in 100,000 births, with a somewhat higher incidence in Southwest Asia and Africa. Approximately half are stillborn, and a smaller fraction of...
, but one twin degenerated completely except for one or more limbs, which end up attached to the other twin.
Sometimes small extra legs between the normal legs are caused by the body axis forking in the dipygus
Dipygus
The dipygus deformity is a severe congenital deformity where the body axis forks left-and-right partway along the torso with the posterior end duplicated. Myrtle Corbin was a dipygus; she married and had 5 children and lived to age 59 or 60. In human cases the inner two of the four hindquarters...
condition.
In humans
- In the summer of 2005, a baby girl named Destiny was born with a fully formed extra leg in Detroit. This was the result of a conjoined twin scenario.
- In March 2006, a baby boy identified only as Jie-jie was born in ShanghaiShanghaiShanghai is the largest city by population in China and the largest city proper in the world. It is one of the four province-level municipalities in the People's Republic of China, with a total population of over 23 million as of 2010...
with a fully formed third arm: he had two full-sized left arms, one ventral to the other. This is the only documented case of a child born with a fully formed supernumerary arm. It is an example of an extra limb on a normal body axis. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/5153292.stm - In July 2007 a child was born with four legs at the LebowakgomoLebowakgomoLebowakgomo was the capital of the former bantustan of Lebowa. Lebowakgomo lies southeast of the Limpopo town of Polokwane. Lebowakgomo is surrounded by villages, Mogodi and Phutimolle north east, Mamaolo on the east, Makurung and Lekhuswaneng being south east.-History:The township was...
hospital outside PolokwanePolokwanePolokwane, meaning "Place of Safety",is a city in the Polokwane Local Municipality and the capital of the Limpopo province, South Africa. It is also often referred to by its former name, Pietersburg. Polokwane is a major urban centre, the biggest and most important north of Gauteng. The population...
(South Africa) - On November 6, 2007, doctors at Bangalore's Sparsh Hospital in Bangalore, India successfully completed surgery on a 2 year old girl named Lakshmi TatmaLakshmi TatmaLakshmi Tatama is an Indian girl born in 2005 in a village in Araria district, Bihar, having "4 arms and 4 legs." She was actually one of a pair of ischiopagus conjoined twins where one twin was headless due to its head atrophying and chest underdeveloping in the womb...
who was born with 4 arms and 4 legs; but this was not true polymelia but a case of ischiopagus Siamese twinning where one twin's head had disappeared during development. - Frank LentiniFrank LentiniFrancesco Lentini was born at Rosolini, near Syracuse, Sicily into a family of twelve children.He was born with three legs, two sets of genitals and one rudimentary foot growing from the knee of his third leg...
had a third leg.
In animals
- A four-legged chickenChickenThe chicken is a domesticated fowl, a subspecies of the Red Junglefowl. As one of the most common and widespread domestic animals, and with a population of more than 24 billion in 2003, there are more chickens in the world than any other species of bird...
was born at Brendle Farms in Somerset, PennsylvaniaSomerset, Pennsylvania-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 6,762 people, 3,035 households, and 1,717 families residing in the borough. The population density was 2,466.0 people per square mile . There were 3,313 housing units at an average density of 1,208.2 per square mile...
, in 2005. The story was carried on the major TV network news programs and USAToday. The bird was found living normally among the rest of the chickens after 18 months. She was adopted and named Henrietta by the farm owner's 13 year old daughter, Ashley, who refuses to sell the chicken. The second (hind) legs are fully formed but non-functional. - Four-legged duckDuckDuck is the common name for a large number of species in the Anatidae family of birds, which also includes swans and geese. The ducks are divided among several subfamilies in the Anatidae family; they do not represent a monophyletic group but a form taxon, since swans and geese are not considered...
s are occasionally hatched, such as 'Stumpy', an individual born in February 2007 on a farm in HampshireHampshireHampshire is a county on the southern coast of England in the United Kingdom. The county town of Hampshire is Winchester, a historic cathedral city that was once the capital of England. Hampshire is notable for housing the original birthplaces of the Royal Navy, British Army, and Royal Air Force...
, EnglandEnglandEngland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. See also http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2006-07/07/content_4806500.htm. - FrogFrogFrogs are amphibians in the order Anura , formerly referred to as Salientia . Most frogs are characterized by a short body, webbed digits , protruding eyes and the absence of a tail...
s in the USA sometimes are affected by polymelia when attacked in the tadpoleTadpoleA tadpole or polliwog is the wholly aquatic larval stage in the life cycle of an amphibian, particularly that of a frog or toad.- Appellation :...
stage by the RibeiroiaRibeiroiaRibeiroia is a group of trematode parasites that sequentially infect freshwater snails in the family Planorbidae as first intermediate hosts, fish and larval amphibians as second intermediate hosts, and birds and mammals as definitive hosts...
parasite. - A puppy, known as Lily, was recently born in the United States with a fully formed fifth leg jutting out between her hind legs. She was initially set to be sold to a freak show, but was instead bought by a dog lover who had the leg removed.
In mythology
Many mythological creatures like dragonDragon
A dragon is a legendary creature, typically with serpentine or reptilian traits, that feature in the myths of many cultures. There are two distinct cultural traditions of dragons: the European dragon, derived from European folk traditions and ultimately related to Greek and Middle Eastern...
s, winged horse
Pegasus
Pegasus is one of the best known fantastical as well as mythological creatures in Greek mythology. He is a winged divine horse, usually white in color. He was sired by Poseidon, in his role as horse-god, and foaled by the Gorgon Medusa. He was the brother of Chrysaor, born at a single birthing...
s, and griffin
Griffin
The griffin, griffon, or gryphon is a legendary creature with the body of a lion and the head and wings of an eagle...
s have six limbs: four legs and two wings. The dragon's science is discussed in Dragons: A Fantasy Made Real.
Sleipnir
Sleipnir
In Norse mythology, Sleipnir is an eight-legged horse. Sleipnir is attested in the Poetic Edda, compiled in the 13th century from earlier traditional sources, and the Prose Edda, written in the 13th century by Snorri Sturluson...
, Odin's horse from Norse mythology, has eight normal horse legs, and is usually depicted with limbs twinned at the shoulder or hip.
Several Hindu
Hinduism
Hinduism is the predominant and indigenous religious tradition of the Indian Subcontinent. Hinduism is known to its followers as , amongst many other expressions...
deities are depicted with multiple arms and legs.
In popular culture
- Edward AlbeeEdward AlbeeEdward Franklin Albee III is an American playwright who is best known for The Zoo Story , The Sandbox , Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? , and a rewrite of the screenplay for the unsuccessful musical version of Capote's Breakfast at Tiffany's . His works are considered well-crafted, often...
's stage play The Man Who Had Three ArmsThe Man Who Had Three ArmsThis is a two-act play for three actors by Edward Albee.The play takes place in a theatre where the main character HIMSELF is about to speak to the assembled group about his life of celebrity as The Man Who Had Three Arms...
tells the story of a fictional individual who was normal at birth but eventually sprouted a third functional arm, protruding from between his shoulder blades. After several years of living with three arms, the extra limb was reabsorbed into his body and the man became physically normal again. In Albee's play, the title character is extremely angry that we (the audience) seem to be much more interested in the period of his life when he had three arms, rather than his normal life before and after that interval. - Monty Python's Flying CircusMonty Python's Flying CircusMonty Python’s Flying Circus is a BBC TV sketch comedy series. The shows were composed of surreality, risqué or innuendo-laden humour, sight gags and observational sketches without punchlines...
performed a skit about a man with three buttocks. (This defect is scientifically possible, though very unlikely.) He believes that he has been invited to be interviewed on television because he is a nice person, and is dismayed to learn that he has only been invited because the interviewer is curious about his unusual condition. - Jake the PegJake the Peg"Jake the Peg" was a fictional three-legged man, the subject of a song performed by Rolf Harris, released as a single in 1965.The song was adapted in 1965 from a version performed by Frank Roosen...
was a fictional three-legged man, the title of a song played by Rolf Harris in the 1960s. The song was written in 1966 with Frank Roosen, a Dutchman in Vancouver, Canada. - The Dark BackwardThe Dark BackwardThe Dark Backward is a 1991 satirical comedy film directed and written by Adam Rifkin.-Plot summary:A man pursues stand-up comedy encouraged by his fellow garbage man. Though his friend, who accompanies him on accordion, continues to tell him how great he is, he actually stinks...
is a 1991 comedy film directed and written by Adam Rifkin, which features Judd Nelson as an unfunny garbage man who pursues a stand-up comedy career. When the "comedian" grows a third arm out of his back, he becomes an overnight hit. - Justice, the main antagonist in the cartoonCartoonA cartoon is a form of two-dimensional illustrated visual art. While the specific definition has changed over time, modern usage refers to a typically non-realistic or semi-realistic drawing or painting intended for satire, caricature, or humor, or to the artistic style of such works...
Afro SamuraiAfro Samurai, also written AFRO SAMURAI, is a Japanese seinen dōjinshi manga series written and illustrated by manga artist Takashi Okazaki. It was originally serialized irregularly in the avant-garde dōjinshi manga magazine Nou Nou Hau from September 1999 to May 2000...
, has a fully formed arm protruding from his right shoulder; it is vital to the plot. - In the film Avatar, most of the creatures have six legs rather than four.
- In the cartoon series Avatar: the Last AirbenderAvatar: The Last AirbenderAvatar: The Last Airbender is an American animated television series that aired for three seasons on Nickelodeon from 2005 to 2008. The series was created and produced by Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko, who served as executive producers along with Aaron Ehasz...
, AangAangAang is a fictional character in Nickelodeon's animated television series Avatar: The Last Airbender. The character is created by Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko and is voiced by Zach Tyler Eisen. Aang is depicted as the show's main protagonist, and as such has appeared in all but one...
owns a six-legged flying bison. - In the Mortal Kombat series, the Shokan is a race of humanoids known to have four arms.
See also
- DysmeliaDysmeliaDysmelia is a congenital disorder referring to the limbs. -Types:Dysmelia can refer to*missing limbs: amelia, oligodactyly, congenital amputation...
- PolydactylyPolydactylyPolydactyly or polydactylism , also known as hyperdactyly, is a congenital physical anomaly in humans, dogs, and cats having supernumerary fingers or toes....
- Polysyndactyly
- Supernumerary body parts
- DipygusDipygusThe dipygus deformity is a severe congenital deformity where the body axis forks left-and-right partway along the torso with the posterior end duplicated. Myrtle Corbin was a dipygus; she married and had 5 children and lived to age 59 or 60. In human cases the inner two of the four hindquarters...
External links
- Four-legged duckling shocks owner — BBC News, 17 February 2007