polymelia
Sign in to savePolymelia is a birth defect in which an affected individual has more than the usual number of limbs. It is a type of dysmelia. In humans and most land-dwelling vertebrates, this means having five or more limbs. The extra limb is most commonly shrunken or deformed. The term is from Greek πολυ- "many", μέλεα "limbs".
Key facts
- Medical condition.name
- Polymelia
- Medical condition.synonyms
- Hydra syndrome
- Medical condition.image
- Radiograph of a child with polymelia.jpg
- Medical condition.caption
- Radiograph of a human child with polymelia
- Medical condition.field
- Medical genetics
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- Polymelia
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10 sectionsContents
- Origin
- Notable cases
- Humans
- Other animals
- In mythology
- In popular culture
- See also
- References
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- External links
Polymelia is a birth defect in which an affected individual has more than the usual number of limbs. It is a type of dysmelia. In humans and most land-dwelling vertebrates, this means having five or more limbs. The extra limb is most commonly shrunken or deformed. The term is from Greek πολυ- "many", μέλεα "limbs".
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.