People Who Perform Autopsies Are Sharing The Weirdest Anomalies They've Found, And The Human Body Is A Wild — And Terrifying — Place

You'd deliberation aft seeing hundreds of bodies, thing would astonishment radical who bash autopsies for a surviving — but sometimes, adjacent they're near stunned. Recently, u/atro_bella asked, "People who execute autopsies, what was the weirdest/most unsocial anomaly you've found?" And the answers did not disappoint. From misplaced organs and enigma tumors to bodies with missing brains (yes, really), these professionals shared the wildest, weirdest things they've discovered connected the table:

1."I performed autopsies for astir a decade. The astir unsocial happening I saw was uterine didelphys with a septate vagina. Basically, the vagina divided successful 2 and went to 2 abstracted cervixes and 2 abstracted uterine cavities. The 2 parts of the uterus fused into 1 heart-shaped body."

"I lone saw that once."

—u/yeahprobablydrunk

2."Situs inversus. Basically, each the organs were successful mirrored anatomical positions from wherever they should usually be. So, truthful cool."

—u/PaperClipehz

3."In a erstwhile career, I was a US Army CID agent. For each decease probe that required an autopsy, we had to nonstop an cause to photograph and observe for the lawsuit file. One feline who had been stabbed done the bosom with a steak weapon by his woman was successful highest carnal signifier — but erstwhile the pathologist pulled his encephalon out, helium said, "Look astatine this." I person nary biology training, but the play ball-sized tumor connected his brainstem was evident adjacent to me. The doc said helium had possibly 90 days to unrecorded astatine the clip of his death."

"The woman went to situation for murder, and each she had to bash was hold a fewer months and she'd person been a leader Army widow."

—u/Underwater_Karma

4."An aged pistillate with an incredibly heavy skull each the mode around. Her encephalon was much, overmuch smaller than it should person been, but according to her family, she was afloat functional and displayed nary deficits of immoderate kind. She really ran her ain cheese-making institution and died from a c monoxide leak."

"Strangest lawsuit I ever saw!"

—u/User5711

5."I was performing an autopsy connected an aged diligent with cardiac valve illness and recovered a 3 cm achromatic integrative disc lodged successful the ostium of 1 of the renal arteries. It was identical to the disc of the patient's tilting valve-type mechanical aortic valve, which was successful place, intact, and functioning normally. We had nary mentation for wherefore an other valve disc was contiguous acold downstream from the heart. An in-depth reappraisal of the patient's surgical past revealed that galore years earlier, during the installation of the aortic valve, the cage for the valve broke portion being installed. The disc had flown into the aorta and couldn't beryllium retrieved. The surgeon instantly removed the breached cage, replaced the full apparatus with different valve, and completed the surgery."

"We recovered nary grounds of immoderate consequent probe to find the whereabouts of the mislaid valve component. So for years — seemingly chartless to astir of his caretakers and perchance adjacent to the diligent — helium had a cardiac valve disc lodged successful his renal artery ostium. It was non-obstructing and stable, and was discovered arsenic an incidental uncovering during the autopsy."

—u/vonGekko

6."I did an autopsy of a young kid, astir 10 years old, who had hydrocephalus and was quadriplegic, yet retained immoderate of his mean functions, similar talking and knowing — albeit minimally. When I opened his skull, determination was nary brain. I was shocked. This was my archetypal clip witnessing thing similar this. There was astir 1.5 liters of fluid and conscionable an bare skull. The encephalon was truthful severely atrophied it was smaller than a play ball."

"Amazing however helium survived until property 10!"

—u/Danger-Doctor-419

7."My stepmom is simply a ceremonial director/embalmer and had a deceased idiosyncratic with a 6-inch process conscionable beneath their spinal cord."

—u/benman5745

8."An accessory spleen conscionable hanging out, attached to the intestines."

—u/mamallama2020

9."As portion of precocious schoolhouse anatomy, we went connected a tract travel to a section assemblage to enactment with bodies donated to science. They had a sign: 'If you can't find it, they don't person one.' A adjacent assemblage was missing immoderate portion of the digestive tract (I hide what — appendix?). They searched up and down. Just wasn't there. No scar indicating removal either."

"Another assemblage was a dormant biker and dense drinker. His assemblage adjusted, though. His liver was earnestly doubly the size of anyone else's determination — possibly much — and stretched each the mode crossed his torso. That liver was a beast."

—u/drakethrice

10."In aesculapian school, I attended 1 autopsy wherever the diligent had a fistula (connection) betwixt his aortic artery and his esophagus. He bled to decease that way. Scary to deliberation about."

—u/TyrosinLennyster

11."I observed a batch of things during my nonrecreational autopsies. The astir notorious was a feline with 4 .22 bullets successful his cranium. He didn't assertion symptom and seemingly lived a mean life. His girl told maine helium was a pack subordinate erstwhile helium was young. He died of cardiac apprehension astatine property 60."

—u/vannerboere

12."A horseshoe kidney — some kidneys were fused astatine the little ends. Another idiosyncratic had a missing lung lobe, truthful 2 lobes connected each broadside alternatively of 2 and three, and nary motion of surgery."

—u/notonthenightshift

13."I'm a ceremonial manager and was embalming an aged pistillate who was inactive lukewarm — she had died conscionable astir an hr before. I couldn't get immoderate drainage astatine all, but I had the drain conduit successful her vein, opened up, and the embalming fluid was pushing through. It didn't marque sense. I started rooting astir successful her vein and saw immoderate coagulation, and utilized forceps to propulsion retired a clot that looked similar a histrion branch. It was astir 7 inches agelong and had branches from smaller vessels. She instantly started bleeding out."

"She was a large embalming."

—u/knittykittyemily

14."My aunt, who worked arsenic a pathologist, told maine of the clip she did an autopsy connected a newborn babe who was calved seemingly steadfast but was incapable to provender and past died. The baby's esophagus was not connected to the tummy — it was connected to the trachea and lungs instead. And the lungs were afloat of milk."

—u/Heroic-Forger

15."Back successful 1990, I was completing a radical autopsy successful an precocious quality anatomy class. An 85-year-old diligent had a tumor successful her brain. It was the size of a play shot connected her close lobe — chartless to her earlier death. She died successful her slumber of earthy causes. The tumor was not malignant but astir apt caused immoderate wicked headaches, on with different symptoms."

"The worldly you find. The assemblage is simply a wonder."

—u/Appropriate_Bad74247

16."I'm not a regular autopsy performer, but I bash a batch with forensic archaeology (mostly earthy mummies now) and had to instrumentality an A&P people that progressive cadaver dissection. Female diligent died astatine 102 of earthy causes. We recovered that the associated of her near elbow had been replaced with thing that legitimately looked similar a car part. Turns retired she'd lived determination successful Soviet Eastern Europe and had the process done sometime successful the 1960s. It looked similar the replacement was done with immoderate was available."

"It was perfectly incredible."

—u/amycusfinch

17."A immense pericarditis pus buildup that was 500 ml successful measurement and agleam green. Intestines that had herniated into a man's testicles. Horseshoe kidneys — I've seen this doubly successful my 10-year mortuary career. I've seen galore accessory spleens, which are precise cute. I person truthful galore different chill things, but these fertile up there."

"Oh, conscionable wanted to adhd that jumping maggots are a thing. Fun times!"

—u/panowshamwow

Clearly, bodies are weird and absorbing — and sometimes downright unbelievable. Did immoderate of these basal retired to you? Or bash you person a chaotic aesculapian communicative oregon thing unusual you've seen firsthand to share? Drop your thoughts successful the comments below.

Note: Responses person been edited for length/clarity.