Triphalia—a physical abnormality in which an individual has three distinct penises—is so rare that it's only been reported once in the medical literature. As of this month though, there is a second documented case of the strange syndrome.
Physicians from the University of Birmingham Medical School report on the case of a 78-year-old man who died and was autopsied. That's when the doctors discovered that the fellow had a "remarkable anatomical variation," two additional penis shafts. While those shafts were entirely internal, they were located below and behind the primary external penis.
"Each penile shaft displayed its own corpora cavernosa and glans penis," the physicians write in the journal Medical Case Reports. "The primary penis and largest and most superficial of the supernumerary penises shared a single urethra, which coursed through the secondary penis prior to its passage through the primary penis. A urethra-like structure was absent from the smallest supernumerary penis."
"….Although we can only speculate as to which functional implications this patient may have experienced, understanding such anatomical variations contributes to both knowledge of human anatomy and clinical management should the condition be encountered in living individuals."
(via Daily Grail)
Previously:
• 'Extraordinary' 4,000-year-old skull reveals medical milestone
• Medical museum embroiled in brouhaha over bequeathed body parts
