20 Most Bizarre Congenital Defects/Abnormalities
Some peculiar abnormalities found here.
Congenital disorder or malformation is a birth defect. It is a result of genetic abnormalities, the intrauterine (uterus) environment, errors of morphogenesis, a chromosomal abnormality, or a complex mix and unknown factors.
Here’s a list of some of the most unusual birth defects.
Aglossia
(Photo courtesy of Indian Society of Pedodontics and Preventive Dentistry)
Aglossia is the absence of tongue at birth. This tongue anomaly is frequently found in persons who have other congenital or developmental defects particularly limb and other cranio-facial defects.
Albinism
(Photo courtesy of Wikipedia)
Albinism is a congenital absence of normal pigmentation. It is characterized by partial or total lack of melanin pigment in the eyes, skin and hair. People who have this condition have visual difficulties like hypersensitivity to bright light and glare and many others.
Anencephaly
Anencephaly is the absence of brain and spinal chord, a congenital defect. There is no cure or standard treatment for anencephaly and the prognosis for affected individuals is poor. Most anencephalic babies do not survive birth.
Aniridia
(Photo courtesy of Wikipedia)
Aniridia is the absence of the iris at birth. This usually occurs in both eyes. It is associated with poor development of the retina at the back of the eye preventing normal vision development.
Apodal
(Photo courtesy of PalmBeachPost.com)
Apodal is the congenital condition of having no feet.
Brachydactylia
(Photo courtesy of Visindavefurinn)
Brachydactylia is an abnormal condition of shortness of fingers. The picture above shows a child fingers and an adult with brachydactylia.
Cleft Foot and Hand
(Photo courtesy of Indian Pediatrics)
Cleft foot and hand also known as split or lobster foot and hand or partial adactyly is a rare inherited anomaly in which a single cleft extends promixally into the foot/hand. It usually occurs in conjunction with clawing of the hand
Club foot
(Photo courtesy of Wikipedia)
Club foot is a congenital foot deformity. The foot is twisted in (inverted) and down. There is no treatment that’s why persons afflicted often appear to walk on their ankles, or on the sides of their feet.
Heterochromia
(Photo courtesy of Wikipedia)
Heterochromia (also known as a heterochromia iridis or heterochromia iridium) is an ocular condition in which one iris is a different color from the other iris. The subject on the photo above has a brown and hazel eye.
Polydactyly
(Photo courtesy of UNSW Embryology)
Polydatyly is the presence of additional toes or fingers also called polydactylia or polydactylism. The condition is often treated surgically in the infant.
Syndactyly
Syndactyly is the fusion of fingers or toes which may be single or multiple and may affect: skin only, skin and soft tissues or skin, soft tissues and bone.
Adermia
Adermia is the absence of skin, congenital or acquired
Aglossostomia
Aglossostomia is the absence of a tongue or mouth at birth
Agonad
Agonad is an individual without sex gland (testes or ovary).
Anonychia
Anonychia is a rare birth malformation characterized by absence of nails.
Atelocephalus
Atelocephalus is a condition of having an incomplete head.
Athymia
Athymia is a condition of a person without emotion or feelings due to the congenital absence of the thymus gland
Chromatelopsia
Chromatelopsia is a condition of color-blindness and the opposite of chromatopsia, a visual defect in which colorless objects appear to be tinged with color.
Darwinian ear
Darwinian ear is a congenital deformity of the helix of the ear.
It is a sad fact that thousands are afflicted by these birth defects. Fortunately, some of these malformations can be corrected medically but unfortunate for others because many of these congenital disorders present no medical solution.
For more bizarre conditions and diseases and other related articles :
Common and Rare Birth Defects or Congenital Disorders and their Causes
Bizarre Mental Disorders and Conditions
The Most Bizarre Sexual Disorders
Bizarre Deadly Diseases Transmitted by Animals to Humans
Deformities Caused by Bizarre Diseases or Physical Anomalies
Fight Colon/Rectum Cancer and Diabetes with High Fiber Bread Fruits and Vegetables
Liked it
Josey | Jun 25, 2008 | Reply
Very sad, indeed. I had never heard of some of these. Thank you for sharing.
Anne Lyken-Garner | Jun 25, 2008 | Reply
I found the pictures very sad and tormenting. Poor souls!
The only one which didn’t seem too bad was the one affected with differently coloured irisis
Anna Ski | Jun 25, 2008 | Reply
Nobert, you are Mr Noberts Believe it or not. I usually see something like this on TV or Foxtel but you bring it to us with visuals and true facts.
You are really unbelievable and unique, you deserve much more than this.
Your articles are real eye catchers. Keep up the good work.
Unofre Pili | Jun 25, 2008 | Reply
Disturbing photos indeed, but informative.
Moses Ingram | Jun 25, 2008 | Reply
Interesting and informative, keep up the good work.
PR Mace | Jun 25, 2008 | Reply
Good job, Nobert,
You never fail to amaze me. Well written, interesting and informative article. In my line of work I have seen some of these.
Kat | Jun 25, 2008 | Reply
It’s very rare for club foot not to be treated. For decades it has been treated with surgery and is now more often treated with long term splinting. It tends to only be in third world countries where some people aren’t treated.
Raideo | Jun 25, 2008 | Reply
I have syndactyly on the second and third toe on each foot, its not that bad, if anything it’s entertaining to show people and watch their reactions, also it is a dominant genetic trait coming from my mother’s side of the family.
Jessica | Jun 25, 2008 | Reply
My Godson has club feet and had casts on for a few weeks and will gradually decrease the amount of time he wears braces throughout the day. The condition is curable!
tracy sardelli | Jun 25, 2008 | Reply
excellent article Nobert, but very sad, shocking and informative.
salvatore | Jun 25, 2008 | Reply
great article buddy, some sad defects.
valli | Jun 25, 2008 | Reply
You have done a good job; very informative article! The pictures made me very sad.
Technetium | Jun 25, 2008 | Reply
Nothin’ wrong with a little heterochromia. One of my best friends has one green eye and one brown eye. He says the brown one is the good one, somewhat jokingly. He’s slightly nearsighted and sees a bit better out of the brown eye. Then again, my eyes are the same color and I see better out of one than the other so I don’t think it’s due to the heterochromia.
Juliane Elliott | Jun 26, 2008 | Reply
Very informative piece. We all need to count our blessings when we bring healthy babies into the world with no problems. So many things can go wrong!
Brianna | Jun 26, 2008 | Reply
As someone with club feet I would like to say that it definitely is treatable and has been for sometime. I can assure you that the hours of surgeries and the weeks spent in the hospital were not spent without results.
Other than that a great list.
Arie Uittenbogaard | Jun 26, 2008 | Reply
Sometimes I wonder what God is up to. Let’s hope that the Human Genome Project can help prevent these things from happening. (I found your title a bit carnivalesque, I’m afraid, but maybe that wasn’t your intention.)
Sandra L. Petersen | Jun 26, 2008 | Reply
Two of our four daughters were born with syndactyly in the toes of both feet and the fingers of the hand. Our oldest daughter had the worst case in the family, with three fingers of her left hand joined to the fingertips, two fingers on her right hand joined to the fingertips, and toes on both feet joined to the tips. Her first corrective surgery was at one year old. In some cases, the fingers bones are actually connected at the tips, but, thankfully, not so with our daughters. Very informative article.
william rodriguez II | Jun 26, 2008 | Reply
Congrats bro, you’ve made it again!You’re one of the great writer here in Triond.Keep it up!
sar | Jun 27, 2008 | Reply
wow this was very intersting i never knew there were so many
samiam9802 | Jun 27, 2008 | Reply
I tend to disagree with the information posted about club foot. My daughter was born with bi-lateral club foot, and was treated, and now has no traces of the problem. There is treatment, and most people who had it at birth, now will have no problems in the future.
Mihnea22 | Jun 28, 2008 | Reply
That is very informative and shocking, but why you don’t have pictures for the last ones?
The Non-Returner | Jun 28, 2008 | Reply
Well, Mihnea, would you really like to see a picture of a person with no skin? How about a person with an incomplete head? What about someone without a mouth? Didn’t think so.
Great article Nobert buddy. Creepy yet informative.
Alexa Gates | Jun 28, 2008 | Reply
that’s crazy! great info though
oxygen | Jun 28, 2008 | Reply
Good writing, but inaccurate. Athymia, as in “absence of the thymus” has no effect on emotions or feelings, in fact the thymus gland is part of the immune system and has virtually no effect on the brain. Athymia could mean absence of emotion, because thymoc means emotion in greek, but the two concepts are completely unrelated.
jamila | Jun 29, 2008 | Reply
i loved this, so cooll
i find this stuff interesting .. excellent job
peaceful | Jun 30, 2008 | Reply
Most of us who have all of our parts and features intact and placed where they should be, are cautioned that it’s not alway the case for many Humans our planet…
These wonderful Humans provide an example that allows me to take another step towards gratefulness for what I’ve got, and to take better care of it.
Ruby Hawk | Jun 30, 2008 | Reply
We have so much to be thankfull for. Many people are not so lucky.
Silentia | Jul 1, 2008 | Reply
That is a very interesting article. I didn’t realize there were so many types of congenital abnormalities.
Loreta Dorington | Jul 1, 2008 | Reply
This is all very sad and true. But I know for a fact that it’s not all hereditary but it may be caused also by environmental and behavioural factors. Man must investigate the real cause of these defects and how to prevent them from happening. Pregnant women must be very careful in how they live and what they have to eat and take in to their bodies (particularly medicines or substances that may be harmful to the fetus especially on the first trimester of their pregnancy) for the sake of the little soul clinging inside of them.
nobert soloria bermosa | Jul 30, 2008 | Reply
thank you all,i appreciate your support very much
Mitzi Whitestone | Jul 31, 2008 | Reply
Excellent job!!! Thanks for sharing
Anubhuti | Aug 11, 2008 | Reply
this is a very interesting article indeed. thanks for putting it up for general awareness
White Mage | Aug 11, 2008 | Reply
I would love to have Heterochromia. That would be really cool. I could be like Yuna from Final Fantasy XD.
Nelson Doyle | Aug 11, 2008 | Reply
Congratulations, Mr. Norbert for writing such an informative and interesting article loaded with facts. Your articles are beautifully written and entertaining. Keep up the good work.
God Bless,
Nelson Doyle
Dieter Hentz | Nov 8, 2008 | Reply
I learn a lot of things
babyjenks | Dec 2, 2008 | Reply
Nice page but FYI there IS very successful treatment of congenital club foot… has been for MANY years… I wonder where you got your info, or where you live for that matter, because this is fairly common knowledge & easily researcehed on the internet.
Mary Antonette | Dec 30, 2008 | Reply
very informative… thanks for sharing…
=)
Mary Antonette | Dec 30, 2008 | Reply
very informative… thanks for sharing…
=)
Casey | Jan 4, 2009 | Reply
I lol’d
GLenda | Jan 5, 2009 | Reply
Club foot is easily treated in infants with a series of casts that gradually mold the foot and ankle back to a normal position, usually with the result that the child has no abnormal gait at all.
NightWhistler | Jan 26, 2009 | Reply
I have syndactyly on both feet as well, pretty similar to the picture shown… it used to be very pronounced as a kid, but as an adult it doesn’t really show as much anymore. I didn’t even know it was an “official” defect, since it doesn’t hinder my walking ability in any way… I can imagine that having it on your hands would be a big problem though.
Kind of funny though to see something I always considered fairly normal (my mother has it too) show up on a list of ‘most bizarre congenital defects’
ave | Apr 20, 2009 | Reply
“Athymia
Athymia is a condition of a person without emotion or feelings due to the congenital absence of the thymus gland”
This supra statement is a gross mistake!.
Athymia has no relation to emotion but to immunity: infections and rheumatic diseases.
The associate occurence of mental/psychiatric disease is an effect of a contiguity syndrome as it may happen in the DiGeorge / Velocardiofacial syndrome.
Congratullations for the rest of the wortk. I lile it very much
mm | Apr 24, 2009 | Reply
wow….poor people…..thank you for bringing us this….it was truly stunning! You are amazing and informative…Keep it up!!! God bless these people
Juancav | Sep 29, 2009 | Reply
Teaching and well documented.
Joshua Miguel | Oct 2, 2009 | Reply
i feel privileged i was born normal. tnx God.
xwhythemx | Nov 22, 2009 | Reply
it’s so sad to see baby’s with a hole life ahead of them, born with a (birth abnormalaty)…