Experts had to do a double – or should I say triple – take after realising a 78-year-old patient had lived his entire life without clocking onto the fact that he had two more penises than he’s supposed to.
Somehow, the British bloke got through nearly eight decades on this earth while being completely oblivious to the fact that he could have really outshined other lads in the trouser department.
The man was reportedly unaware of his condition (Credit: Getty Stock Image))
It was only when the man died and donated his body to medical science that it was discovered he had a hat trick hidden in his private region.
Students at the University of Birmingham Medical School were dissecting the pensioner’s body when they spotted his ‘remarkable anatomical variation’, which has only ever been recorded once before.
It is believed that the fella went through his whole life without being aware of just how well endowed he really was.
The case, which was published in the Journal of Medical Case Reports last week, explained that experts subsequently diagnosed the man with the ultra-rare birth defect triphallia, which essentially means ‘triple penis’.
Diphallia refers to a duplicate penis, which in itself is uncommon and thought to affect just one in every five to six million people, but triphallia is practically unheard of, according to experts.
The only other case of it which has been documented was in 2020 and involved a newborn baby in Iraq.
Triphallia is extremely rare and only one other case has been recorded until now (Getty Stock Photo)
This patient, who was described as a 6ft tall white male, appeared to have normal genitalia when medical students conducted an external examination.
But after they began dissecting the corpse, they made a shocking discovery.
The authors of the case explained that they found ‘two small supernumerary penises stacked in a sagittal orientation posteroinferiorly to the primary penis’ which were ‘concealed within the scrotal sac’.
Each penile shaft had its own corpora cavernosa and glans penis, but the primary and secondary penis shared a urethra which then ‘coursed through the secondary penis prior to its passage through the primary penis’.
According to the report, the smallest supernumerary penis didn’t have a urethra-like structure.
Experts offered up an explanation for the bizarre situation, detailing how the early phase of genital development in the womb kicks off somewhere between four and seven weeks into gestation.
Boffins explained that the penis then ‘develops from the genital tubercule’, which is controlled by the hormone dihydrotestosterone (DHT).
The case study explains: “Genetic abnormalities affecting the expression of androgen receptors may cause morphological genital abnormalities. In this case, there may have been triplication of the genital tubercle.
The 78-year-old is believed to have died without knowing that he had the birth defect (Journal of Medical Case Reports)
“The urethra originally developed in the secondary penis, however, when this penis failed to develop, the urethra diverted its course and developed in the primary penis instead,” it continued.
“The tertiary penis is a remnant of the triplicated genital tubercle.”
The researchers noted that those who have multiple penises are at increased risk of contracting urinary tract infections as well as experiencing sexual dysfunction, obstructive urinary symptoms and urinary incontinence in adulthood.
Doctors will typically remove the additional penises when they encounter this birth defect, although it appears as though the 78-year-old had no clue he had two down there due to it’s ‘normal’ appearance externally.
The report added: “We cannot be certain that in this case the defect remained unnoticed in life, as there is a history of inguinal hernia repair.
“Due to the tortuous nature of the urethra, a urinary catheter would have proved challenging to pass.
“If the defect had been noticed during his life, it may have simply been left untouched due to the apparent lack of symptoms and its benign nature.”
But seing as though they stumbled across the triphallia discovery by sheer chance, they reckon that the case could indicate that this common might be a lot more common than was previously thought.
The study concluded: “Without any symptoms and additional medical needs, concealed internal penises may not present themselves, preventing diagnosis. Hence, polyphallia may be more prevalent than currently understood.
“It is of clinical importance for healthcare providers to be aware of polyphallia for the diagnosis of patients presenting with urological symptoms and for healthcare interventions, such as simple catheter insertion, urological imaging and surgery.”