A recent routine autopsy revealed the first medical discovery of its kind: a 78-year-old man lived his entire life with three penises. However, given the anatomical complexity, it’s entirely possible that he didn’t even know about his extremely rare condition.
Penile hyperplasia, also known as multiple penises, is estimated to occur in only 1 in 5 to 6 million births, but even then, it doesn’t always turn out as expected. Instead of clear outward signs of multiple genitalia, the organs often develop inside one of the penises. For this reason, actual documentation may be rarer than the physical features themselves. Medical case report journalonly 168 papers dating back to 1606 mention such an anatomical feature. Of these, the majority were classified as complete diphenis (two penises) and 50 showed pseudobipenis. The other five papers do not reveal the total number of bodies, but the first documented Trifalia incident has just occurred. 4 years ago A toddler boy. But the anonymous 78-year-old man has become the first adult to display three penises.
as gizmodo Note, the anatomical configuration differed between each example. Inside the first penis were secondary organs containing three major tissues: the corpus cavernosum, the corpus cavernosum, and the glans. A single urethra penetrated both this urethra and the main penis, but the third urethra had no connections with the corpus cavernosum or the urethra itself.
The development of multiple penises is generally thought to be due to genetic mutations that affect androgen receptors during development. The study authors theorize that this man’s symptoms may have been caused by the growth of three incipient genital tubercles. Interestingly, the urethra initially grew within the secondary penis, but was unable to fully develop there and was forced to reroute and grow through what became the primary penis. is.
[Related: Please think twice before letting an AI scan your penis for STIs.]
Because of this internal arrangement, medical researchers explain in their paper, the man may have lived his entire life unaware of his situation. That being said, it can easily lead to a number of medical problems over the years, including urinary tract infections and erectile dysfunction. Due to local UK medical donation laws, virtually no information about the man is publicly available other than his physical characteristics and age.
However, at some point in his life, the man underwent surgery to repair an inguinal hernia. This surgery often required a catheter. A normally shaped urethra may cause this problem and ultimately indicate his condition. Fortunately, the hernia surgery may have gone more smoothly than expected, as there is no mention of Trifalia in the medical records. In any case, the man may have lived his entire life unaware of his condition due to “the lack of obvious symptoms and its benign nature.”
