When you think of a human tail, the film ‘Shallow Hal’ comes to mind. But recently a baby was born with a human tail, and it was successfully removed thanks to doctors at Albert Sabin Children’s Hospital.
According to a pediatric journal, a baby boy in Brazil was born with a human tail, in addition to being born prematurely at 35 weeks.
Born to a mother who was previously described as “healthy” and who didn’t smoke or drink, it’s reported that the mother smoked 10 cigarettes a day during her pregnancy but did not do any illicit drugs.
Once the mother delivered the baby, it was a noticeable human tail attached with a ball at the end of it.
She delivered her baby prematurely at 35 weeks with an uncomplicated vaginal delivery, but initial assessment revealed the neonate was jaundiced with a human tail with a ball at the end of it, per the report.
Once the ultrasound was negative for “nervous system involvement,” the baby boy’s human tail was removed successfully.
According to Fox, a human tail are categorized as “true or pseudo-tails.”
Based on the definition, it is said that true human tails, “represent the persistence of a remnant of the embryonic tail formed between the fourth and eighth week of gestation, being composed of adipose and connective tissue, blood vessels, muscle and nerve fibers.”
It’s also reported that a “pseudo-tail, is usually a symptom of a tailbone abnormality or spina bifida,” according to a report.
It’s also noted that it is a belief that our ancestors had human tails. But once we evolved as a species, we stopped growing them.