A man has been discovered to have two extra penises by medical students dissecting his body, marking only the second time ever someone has been found to have three penises.
This incredibly rare triple penis phenomenon was found by students at the University of Birmingham Medical School in the U.K. during a dissection of a 78-year-old man who had donated his body to science, according to a new paper in the publication Journal of Medical Case Reports.
According to the researchers, the man may never have known he had three penises.
This condition, known as triphallia, was only seen in a human for the very first time in 2020 in a newborn, and is thought to affect one in every 5 to 6 million live births.
ISTOCK / GETTY IMAGES PLUS / Buchanan, J., Gadd, M., How, R. et al. J Med Case Reports 2024.
“Triphallia, a rare congenital anomaly describing the presence of three distinct penile shafts, has been reported only once in the literature,” the researchers wrote in the new paper. “Without dissection, this anatomical variation would have remained undiscovered, suggesting the prevalence of polyphallia may be greater than expected.”
Having two penises, known as diphallia, has been seen in around 100 human cases, and occurs once in every 5.5 million live births. Usually, doctors remove the extra penises at birth if they are externally visible, but they are often left alone or go unnoticed entirely if hidden inside the body.
The 78-year-old man appeared to have normal genitals externally, but once his penis was dissected, the students discovered two other tiny duplicate penises hidden inside his scrotum.
“Despite the normal appearance of external genitalia on examination, the dissection of a 78-year-old white male revealed a remarkable anatomical variation: two small supernumerary penises stacked in a sagittal orientation posteroinferiorly to the primary penis,” the researchers wrote in the paper.
A standard penis is made up of side-by-side columns that run along the upper length of the shaft named the corpora cavernosa, and a single column of tissue at the bottom that surrounds the urethra called the corpus spongiosum. The rounded, sensitive tip of the penis is called the glans.
“Each penile shaft displayed its own corpora cavernosa and glans penis,” the researchers wrote. “The primary penis and largest and most superficial of the supernumerary penises shared a single urethra, which coursed through the secondary penis prior to its passage through the primary penis. A urethra-like structure was absent from the smallest supernumerary penis.”
Additionally, the other extra penis did not have a corpus spongiosum present.
Buchanan, J., Gadd, M., How, R. et al. J Med Case Reports 2024.
As the extra two penises were not externally visible, the man may not have ever known he had been born with this unique addition. However, the unusual tissue of the extra penises may have caused him some medical issues during his lifetime.
“These penile morphological abnormalities may not have been identified during his life. However, he may have lived with functional deficits due to the abnormal anatomy of the region, which may include urinary tract infections, erectile dysfunction, or fertility issues,” the researchers wrote.
The man may have experienced pain during sex due to the extra penises becoming erect. If the man’s extra penises had extra urethras, it could have exposed him to an increased risk of infections. Luckily, the man’s urethra merely ran through the secondary penis and into the primary penis without any dead ends.
“There is an increased risk of urinary tract infections in diphallia or triphallia cases with multiple or blind-ending urethras due to urine stagnation. In this case, the risk of urinary tract infections is not likely to be increased as there is no blind-ending urethra,” the researchers wrote.
There is a chance these extra penises had been noticed during his lifetime and simply left alone, as they were not at risk of causing him any major harm.
“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,” the researchers wrote.
The team wasn’t entirely sure what caused the man’s extra penises to develop, but say that it likely occurs due to a defect in fetal genital development at four to seven weeks gestation.
The case is noteworthy as the second-ever reported triphallia, and also due to its difference from the only prior case, in which the extra penises were not hidden inside the body. The researchers note that this discovery will inform other doctors about the possibility of hidden polyphallia in patients presenting with other symptoms.
“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.”
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References
Buchanan, J., Gadd, M., How, R., Mathews, E., Coetzee, A., & Katti, K. (2024). Triphallia: the first cadaveric description of internal penile triplication: a case report. Journal of Medical Case Reports, 18(1).
Jabali, S. S., & Mohammed, A. A. (2020). Triphallia (triple penis), the first reported case in human. International Journal of Surgery Case Reports, 77, 198–200. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijscr.2020.11.008
Tirtayasa, P. M. W., Prasetyo, R. B., & Rodjani, A. (2013). Diphallia with Associated Anomalies: A Case Report and Literature Review. Case Reports in Urology, 2013, 1–4.
