While dissecting a body donated to science, medical students discovered that their “patient” had three penises.
- Students discovered that a man who died at 78 had three penises.
- Visually, the man did not appear to have any abnormalities. The two extra penises were in his scrotum.
- This anomaly is called triphallia. This is the second documented case in the world.
Students at the University of Birmingham’s medical school were particularly surprised as they dissected the body of a 78-year-old man in class. And it’s not because these future doctors hadn’t revised their anatomy courses enough. They discovered that the deceased septuagenarian had three penises.
This is the second case recorded, according to the case study published in the journal Journal of Medical Case Reports.
Two penises “hidden” in the scrotum
The researchers point out that visually the man appeared to have “normal” private parts. The students only noticed its peculiarity when they began to dissect the penis. The two additional smaller penises (about 3.5 cm) were located in the scrotum.
“Each penile shaft displayed its own corpus cavernosum and glans penis“, specify the authors in the article. “The primary penis as well as the larger and more superficial supernumerary penis shared a single urethra. The latter passed through the secondary penis before it passed through the primary penis. A urethra-like structure was absent from the smaller supernumerary penis.”
This rare birth defect is called triphallia. It is very likely that the man was not aware of his peculiarity. “However, he may have lived with functional deficits due to the abnormal anatomy of the area, which may include urinary tract infections, erectile dysfunction or fertility problems”add the scientists.
Polyphally: an anomaly may be more widespread than we think
Diphallia, having two penises, has been observed a hundred times. Researchers estimate that this type of abnormality occurs 1 in 5.5 million live births. Triphallia is even rarer. It had previously only been observed once in Iraq in 2020 on a 3-month-old infant.
However, the authors note “Without dissection, this anatomical variation would have remained unnoticed, suggesting that the prevalence of polyphally (having multiple penises) may be greater than expected.”
For researchers, this case shows that it is essential for health professionals to be aware of the existence of polyphally despite its rarity in patients with “urological symptoms and for healthcare interventions, such as simple catheter insertion, urological imaging and surgery”.
