Dipygus

Dipygus
Myrtle Corbin, a famous dipygus.
Symptoms	Body axis forks left and right partway along the torso with the posterior end (pelvis and legs) duplicated
Causes	Congenital deformity

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Piglet with dipygus at Ukrainian National Chernobyl Museum in Kyiv

Dipygus is a severe congenital deformity where the body axis forks left and right partway along the torso with the posterior end (pelvis and legs) duplicated.

Myrtle Corbin^[1] was a dipygus; she married and had five children. In human cases, the inner two of the four hindquarters develop much smaller than normal. This is a type of "teras catadidymum" ("monster twinned below"). Another sort of deformity with extra legs can happen from a degenerated conjoined twin, as may have happened with Frank Lentini with his third leg.

Signs[]

Dipygus manifests as duplicated lower limbs and could include additional organs or bodily structures.

Causes[]

Dipygus is caused by genetic, environmental, or teratogenic factors. It occurs early in intrauterine life.

References[]