Human tail- a rare anatomical mystery: A case report

Asrar Ahmad

doi:10.46831/jpas.v1i1.3

Abstract

Background: Human tails are rare entities and can be classified as true tails and pseudotails. True tails are composed of adipose tissue, connective tissue, muscles, vessels, nerves and mechanoreceptors whereas pseudotails may be an anomalous prolongation of the coccygeal vertebra, lipoma, teratoma, chondrodystrophy or parasitic fetus. Case Report: A 3-month-old male baby had a tail like appendage since birth which was gradually increasing in size. After complete workup, an elective resection was done under general anesthesia. Postoperative recovery was uneventful. Conclusion: Surgical excision of the tail is the ultimate and may be the only surgical intervention required in these patients.

Highlights

The occurrence of a human tail sparks a great deal of interest for doctors and medical students because of its rarity but brings about extreme stress to the parents of the child
Human tails are lumbosacral coccygeal appendages that are known to arise from distal remnant of embryonic tail.[3]
Its histology comprises of muscle, vessels, nerves, connective tissue, and fat wrapped in outer skin layer

Summary

Introduction

The occurrence of a human tail sparks a great deal of interest for doctors and medical students because of its rarity but brings about extreme stress to the parents of the child. Human tails are lumbosacral coccygeal appendages that are known to arise from distal remnant of embryonic tail.[3] Its histology comprises of muscle, vessels, nerves, connective tissue, and fat wrapped in outer skin layer. Tails have been found to be associated with other pathologies of the spine and spinal cord, such as spinal dysraphism, meningomyelocele and tethered spinal cord.[5] It is noteworthy to mention that there has been one case reported in literature with a vertebra in a human caudal tail.[6] Infrequently, a child is born with a ‘soft tail’, which contains no vertebrae but only blood vessels, muscles and nerves.

Results

Conclusion