As often as it can be, we have encountered different kinds of sickness, illness and disorders that can actually happened to someone, and it’s been a usual happenings for medical professionals dealing with the treatment of any illness or injuries. There has been countless medical conditions recorded in medical history, and most of them are added up to medical research or case reports meant for future use.
If we’ve known diseases that are too normal, unknown to us, there are strange medical conditions happened in the past, bizarre disorders that actually speaks of how mysterious our body is.
Here are just some of the most strange, disturbing and controversial medical conditions:
WARNING: The list contains images that are very disturbing to look at and are of an adult nature.
1. Strange cases
Blanche Dumas
This woman named Blanche Dumas had three legs and two vaginas (and four breasts too). She is known as the ‘Three-Legged Courtesan.’
Juan Baptista dos Santos
Like Blanche Dumas, this man named Juan Baptista dos Santos is said to have been a “Gipsey”, born two functioning penis and three scrota, the outer two of which each contained a single testis. Dos Santos claimed that the central scrotum had also contained a pair of fully-formed testes, but that these had retreated into his abdomen when he was ten years old.
Another SHOCKING revelation: Blanche Dumas was working as a high class prostitute and many believed that she had a romantic relationship with Juan Baptista dos Santos. Oops.
2. Chinese Fingernails
As a symbol of high social standing, high members of the Chinese aristocracy would often grow their fingernails to an excessive length. This was perhaps (like foot binding) a sign that they need not have functional use of their hands for work.
3. Foot Deformity
The deformed feet above are the result of a birth defect. These can occur not just in the feet but on the hands also. These deformities were often attributed to “germ or sperm”.
4. Giantism
This is John Aasen (1890-1938) who was employed in the circus as a sideshow freak. He was 7’1/2″ (214cm) tall. Due to his height, John was also used in Hollywood movies.
5. Triple Amputee
The thirty-two year old man pictured here had his legs and one arms crushed by a railroad car which was transporting building materials. He had to have all three limbs amputated. His was the second successful triple amputation in the United States.
6. Cutaneous Horn
This is a wax model of Madame Dimanche also known as Widow Sunday who had a 9.8 inch horn on her head. It took six years to grow to that length. It was removed successfully by a famed French surgeon.
This man from China is known as ‘The Human Unicorn’ who is only known as Wang. This farmer was normal in every respect except for the fact that he possessed a fourteen-inch spire-like horn growing from the back of his head. Wang disappeared from the public eye in the early 1930′s and was never heard from again.
7. Neurofibromatosis
This man suffered from Von Recklinhausen’s Disease (also known as neurofibromatosis). It is a genetic disorder in which your nerves grow tumours. If one of parent’s suffers from this illness you have a 50% chance of inheriting it.
8. Cyclopia
Cyclopia is a rare birth defect in which the body is unable to properly separate the two eye sockets so they remain merged as one. The majority of babies suffering this disease are stillborn but if they survive it is not usually for more than a few hours.
This child is unknown but one of the most notable case was a baby girl in India with her only eye was in the center of her forehead. She did not have a nose and her brain was fused into a single hemisphere. The child died 1 day after her birth.
9. Elephantiasis
The man below – suffering from elephantiasis – was so distressed by his condition that he begged for amputation. Instead an experimental surgery was performed on him which successfully removed much of the excess tissue. Unfortunately, however, he died five months later.
10. Enlarged Bosom
This rather unfortunate woman suffered from bilateral hypertrophy of both breasts. Amazingly she survived an operation to remove them both. After removal the left breast weighed seventeen pounds and the right weighed forty-three pounds.
11. Hypertrichosis
This is Stephan Bibrowski (1891–1932), better known as Lionel the Lion-faced Man, was a famous sideshow performer. His whole body was covered with long hair that gave him the appearance of a lion. Far from being exhibited as a beast, he wore often the best clothes to show that under his hairs he was a literate and enjoyable person that spoke five languages.
12. Dipygus
This is Josephine Myrtle Corbin from Lincoln County, Tennessee in 1868. She is known as ‘The Four Legged Lady’ who was born a dipygus, meaning that she had two separate pelvises side by side from the waist down. The extra legs were part of a twin that did not split correctly and each of her smaller inner legs was paired with one of her outer legs. She was said to be able to move her inner legs, but they were too weak for walking. She had four daughters and a son.
13. Proteus Syndrome
This is Joseph Merrick, known as ‘The Elephant Man’ who suffered from Proteus Syndrome that caused his limbs to grow extremely large when he was five years old. Merrick died at the age of 27 from suffocation while he slept.
14. Acromegaly
This woman is Mary Ann Bevan who exhibit symptoms of acromegaly, a form progressive giantism that causes abnormal growth and distortion of the facial features, as well as headaches, failing eyesight and joint and muscle pain. She is known as ‘The Ugliest Woman.’
15. Congenital Genu Recurvatum
This is Ella Harper (born in Tennessee in 1873), known as the “Camel Girl” who was born with an orthopedic condition that caused her knees to bend backwards.
16. Other Strange Conditions
Martin Laurello
This is Martin Joe Laurello, who is also known as the Human Owl and Bobby the Boy with the Revolving Head, was a German-American sideshow performer and biological rarity who could turn his head 180 degrees. He performed with groups such as Ripley’s Believe it or Not, Ringling Brothers, and Barnum & Bailey. He also trained animals to do things such as acrobatics.
Josephine Boisdechene
She is known as Madame Clofullia who was born in Switzerland. She was born hairy and reputedly had a two-inch beard at the age of eight. She is known as the The Bearded Lady of Geneva.
Mademoiselle Gabrielle
This woman is known as ‘The Half Lady’ who first joined the circus at the Paris Exposition in 1900. She travelled with the Ringling Brothers Circus and appeared at Coney Island’s Dreamland sideshow. She was married at least twice, once to a man named John de Fuller. She had a perfectly formed upper body which ended smoothly just below the waist.
nice and very educational and valuable references.