Abstract
Six girls and two boys aged between 3 and 9 years presented with palpable bony protrusions behind the anus and beyond the natal cleft and complained of local pain in the sitting position. These eight cases were encountered during a 27-year period (1964 to 1991) in three institutions in India (Niloufer Hospital, Hyderabad, King George Hospital, Vizagapatnam, and Sri Ramachandra Medical College Hospital, Madras). Clinical and operative findings clearly revealed the abnormality, but the cartilaginous nature of the coccyx at this age prevented confirmation by conventional radiology. The embryology of the human fetus and evolution of orthograde man from pronogrades explains the occurrence of human tails and suggests probable etiopathology. Surgical excision relieved the symptoms.
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Bai, D.M., Kalidasan, V., Govindarajan, R. et al. Human tails. Pediatr Surg Int 9, 133–134 (1994). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00176136
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00176136