supernumerary body part

{{Short description|Growth of an additional part of the body and a deviation from the body plan}}

Image:Polydactyly 01 Rhand AP.jpg of a hand with a supernumerary digit (polydactyly)]]

Supernumerary body parts are most commonly a congenital disorder involving the growth of an additional part of the body and a deviation from the body plan. Body parts may be easily visible or hidden away, such as internal organs.

Many additional body parts form by the same process as conjoined twins: the zygote begins to split but fails to completely separate. This condition may also be a symptom of repeated occurrences of continuous inbreeding in a genetic line.

Specific types of occurrence

Specific types of additional body parts include:

  • Accessory breast – one or more additional breastsOnline Mendelian Inheritance in Man. "[https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/dispomim.cgi?id=163700 Nipples, Supernumerary]". Accessed 10 July 2006.
  • Accessory spleen – one or more additional spleens
  • Cervical rib – an additional ribPatientPlus. "[http://www.patient.co.uk/showdoc/40001959/ Cervical ribs and thoracic outlet syndrome]". Accessed 10 July 2006.
  • Diphallia – having two penes/penises
  • Hyperdontia – additional teethDerm Atlas. "[https://web.archive.org/web/20050429122544/http://dermatlas.med.jhmi.edu/derm/IndexDisplay.cfm?ImageID=42691216 Image of hyperdontia]. Accessed 10 July 2006.
  • Pelvic digit – a bony growth in the soft tissue of the pelvic region
  • Polycephaly – an extra head
  • Polydactyly – additional fingers or toesPenn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center A-Z. [http://pennstatehershey.adam.com/content.aspx?productId=121 Polydactyly and Syndactyly]. Accessed 10 July 2006.
  • Polymelia – an extra arm or leg
  • Polyorchidism – having three or more testiclesWipro GE Healthcare. "[https://web.archive.org/web/20060710220156/http://www.gehealthcare.com/inen/rad/us/technology/msupoly.html Polyorchidism]". Accessed 10 July 2006.
  • Supernumerary bones – these additional bones are fairly common, particularly in the feet, and are frequently mistaken for fractures on x-rays.
  • Supernumerary kidney – a third kidneyBiology Online. "[https://web.archive.org/web/20061104181745/http://www.biology-online.org/dictionary/Supernumerary_kidney Supernumerary kidney]". Accessed 10 July 2006.
  • Supernumerary musculature – presence of extra muscles such as additional heads of the biceps brachii, or coracobrachialis muscle variants{{cite journal|last1=Moore|first1=Colin W.|last2=Rice|first2=Charles L.|title=Rare muscular variations identified in a single cadaveric upper limb: a four-headed biceps brachii and muscular elevator of the latissimus dorsi tendon|journal=Anatomical Science International|date=6 July 2017|volume=93|issue=2|pages=311–316|doi=10.1007/s12565-017-0408-8|pmid=28685367}}
  • Supernumerary nipples – an additional nipple
  • Supernumerary phantom limbs – where the brain acts as though a limb were there, but it is not
  • Syndactyly – webbing between the fingers or toes
  • Uterus didelphys – two vaginal canals and/or uteri

Related conditions and concepts

Vestigial structures are anatomical structures of organisms in a species which are considered to have lost much or all of their original function through evolution.{{Cite book |last=Lawrence |first=Eleanor |title=Henderson's Dictionary of Biology |publisher=Pearson Education Ltd |year=2008 |isbn=9780321505798 |edition=14th |location=Essex |pages=709 |language=en}} These body parts can be classed as additional to the required functioning of the body. In human anatomy, the vermiform appendix is sometimes classed as a vestigial remnant.

Prosthesis is an artificial extension that replaces a body part,{{Cite web |title=Prosthetic reconstruction |url=https://www.royalfree.nhs.uk/services/plastic-surgery/prosthetic-limbs-and-body-parts |access-date=2024-05-07 |website=Royal Free London |language=en}} and cybernetics is the study of computer technology in relation to organisms, which can include replacement or additional body parts.{{Cite book |last=George |first=Frank Honywill |title=Cybernetics |date=1971 |publisher=Teach Yourself Books |isbn=9780340059418 |location=London |language=en}}

Body integrity identity disorder (BIID) is a psychiatric disorder in which a person thinks that they have one or more additional limbs than they should, despite having two arms and two legs.{{Cite web |title=ICD-11 for Mortality and Morbidity Statistics |url=https://icd.who.int/browse/2024-01/mms/en#256572629 |access-date=2024-05-07 |website=icd.who.int}} People with this condition often wish to amputate what they see as additional body parts.

A phantom limb is the sensation that a missing limb is still attached to the body. This is almost universal in amputees in the first month following an amputation.{{Citation |last1=Manchikanti |first1=Laxmaiah |title=Phantom Pain Syndromes |date=2007-01-01 |work=Pain Management |volume=1 |pages=304–315 |editor-last=Waldman |editor-first=Steven D. |url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/B9780721603346500327 |access-date=2024-05-07 |chapter= |place=Philadelphia |publisher=W.B. Saunders |isbn=978-0-7216-0334-6 |last2=Singh |first2=Vijay |last3=Boswell |first3=Mark V. |editor2-last=Bloch |editor2-first=Joseph I.}}

A supernumerary phantom limb is the sensation of having an extra limb or body part despite no such limb actually existing. It is an uncommon syndrome, usually due to some kind of brain injuries in the somatosensory cortex or in some parts of the right hemisphere of the brain, usually due to a stroke in the brain.{{Cite journal |last1=Diaz-Segarra |first1=Nicole |last2=McKay |first2=Ondrea |last3=Kirshblum |first3=Steven |last4=Yonclas |first4=Peter |date=2020-07-09 |title=Management of nonpainful supernumerary phantom limbs after incomplete spinal cord injury with visual–tactile feedback therapy: a case report |journal=Spinal Cord Series and Cases |volume=6 |issue=1 |pages=62 |doi=10.1038/s41394-020-0312-7 |issn=2058-6124 |pmc=7347878 |pmid=32647132}}

A chimera is an animal or plant that has two or more different populations of genetically distinct cells that originated in different zygotes that have merged. Anatomical structures are typically mixed depending on which cells are prevalent in different body parts. For example, plants can have two different types of flowers.

A mosaic is a genetic anomaly similar in nature and effects to a chimera: genetically different populations of cells within one organism, originated from some propagated mutation of a single cell rather than from outside sources.

Mythology

In Hindu mythology, additional limbs and heads are considered a sign of power.

In Greek mythology, Artemis, the goddess of fertility, was sometimes represented as having numerous breasts. This was particularly notable in the cult of Artemis (Diana) celebrated in the ancient city of Ephesus, in modern Turkey.

In Japanese mythology, the god of the sea and storms, Susanoo, is sometimes depicted as having a third arm.

In Hungarian mythology, having six fingers on a hand (polydactyly) is held to be the sign of innate supernatural power (see {{Lang|hu|táltos|italic=no}}).

In Christian mythology, Goliath has brothers who have six fingers and six toes.

See also

References

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