Polycephaly

From WikiMD.org
Jump to navigation Jump to search

Polycephaly

Polycephaly (pronunciation: /pɒlɪˈsɛfəli/) is a condition of having more than one head. The term is derived from the Greek words "poly" meaning 'many' and "kephale" meaning 'head'.

Etymology

The term "Polycephaly" is derived from the Greek words "poly" (πολύς), which means 'many', and "kephale" (κεφαλή), which means 'head'.

Definition

Polycephaly is a condition of having more than one head. In medical terms, it is a type of congenital disorder that results in an organism being born with more than one head. This condition is most commonly observed in animals, particularly reptiles and amphibians, but can also occur in humans, although it is extremely rare.

Related Terms

  • Conjoined twins: A type of identical twins that are physically connected to each other in some way. Polycephaly is a form of conjoined twinning.
  • Diprosopus: A congenital defect also known as craniofacial duplication. The animals, or rarely humans, afflicted with this condition have part or all of their face duplicated on their head.
  • Bicephaly: A type of polycephaly where an organism has two heads. It is a specific type of polycephaly.

See Also

External links

Esculaap.svg

This WikiMD article is a stub. You can help make it a full article.


Languages: - East Asian 中文, 日本, 한국어, South Asian हिन्दी, Urdu, বাংলা, తెలుగు, தமிழ், ಕನ್ನಡ,
Southeast Asian Indonesian, Vietnamese, Thai, မြန်မာဘာသာ, European español, Deutsch, français, русский, português do Brasil, Italian, polski