Sirenomelia

disease

Sirenomelia, also known as Mermaid Syndrome, is a very rare disorder in which the legs are stuck together, making them look like a mermaid's tail. This, however, is as rare as conjoined twins, and only happens to one out of every 100,000 live births.[1] It is usually very bad for the kidney and bladder, and only about four survivors were known to be alive as of July 2003.[2]

References change

  1. Kallen B, Castilla EE, Lancaster PA, Mutchinick O, Knudsen LB, Martinez-Frias ML, Mastroiacovo P, Robert E (1992). "The cyclops and the mermaid: an epidemiological study of two types of rare malformation". J Med Genet. 29 (1): 30–5. doi:10.1136/jmg.29.1.30. PMC 1015818. PMID 1552541.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  2. "Journal of Pediatric Surgery: A surviving infant with sirenomelia (mermaid syndrome) associated with absent bladder". ScienceDirect. 25 July 2003. Archived from the original on 2008-03-02. Retrieved 2008-02-16.