Horrifying scans show body parts and hair growing on rare tumor inside woman's body
Disturbing photos of an extremely rare form of tumor that developed inside the ovary of a woman have re-emerged online.
A 25-year-old virginal Japanese woman underwent surgery more than 20 years ago to remove a growth that doctors had found developing in the reproductive area of her body - but when they cut her open they were shocked at what they saw.
Researchers carried out a study on the back of her case, which was published in the National Library of Medicine back in 2004 after the ovarian tumor was discovered.
It was initially diagnosed as a mature teratoma which, according to the study's authors, are 'commonly observed benign ovarian tumors, consist of ectodermal, mesodermal, and endodermal components that are generally disorganized'.
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However, in this case, it 'demonstrated considerable differentiation'.
Photos of the tumor are unsettling, to say the least - with its 'doll-like' appearance consisting of limbs, teeth and even hair.
The abstract for the study read: "A solid mass within the tumor was found to have a head, trunk, and extremities."
The tumor was ultimately diagnosed as a 'mature fetiform teratoma (homunculus)' which, according to Cleveland Clinic, is 'a type of dermoid cyst that consists of living tissue and often resembles a malformed fetus'.
"Brain, eye, spinal nerve, ear, teeth, thyroid gland, bone, bone marrow, gut, trachea, blood vessels, and phallic cavernous tissue were confirmed microscopically," the study added.
The researchers went on to describe its 'distinctive features' that were the 'clear anterior-posterior, ventral-dorsal, and left-right axes, with a spatially well-organized arrangement of the organs'.
Horrifyingly, an eye was located on the front of its head, while it even developed a spinal nerve and spinal bones - 'the thyroid gland was anterior to the trachea, and the gut was deep inside the trunk', the study's authors wrote.
They came to an intriguing conclusion 'that the information necessary for organization of the body plan may be conserved and transmitted, even with parthenogenesis' - a form of asexual reproduction.
The researchers continued: "Mature cystic teratomas of the ovary are mostly benign and do not always attract detailed attention.
"However, precise analyses of such tumors may significantly enhance our understanding of both parthenogenetic and normal human development."
The authors of the study were: Naohiko Kuno, Kenji Kadomatsu, Makoto Nakamura, Takahiko Miwa-Fukuchi, Norio Hirabayashi and Takao Ishizuka.
A teratoma tumor was also discovered last decade in the ovaries of a 16-year-old Japanese woman when she underwent surgery to remove her appendix.
Joe Yates