This Month's Morbidly Fascinating Page Presents:

Polydactyly

(exta digits on the hands or feet)

IN THE ARCHIVES:

NatGeo Bog People
Flesh-Eating Bacteria
Funeral Hearses
Sharks
Mob Hits
Circus Freaks
The Amityville Horror
Celebrity Tombstones
Freaky Photoshop
Face Transplants

ON THE HANDS

ON THE FEET

XRAYS

ANIMALS HAVE IT TOO

Above: a ferret (left) and a cat (right)

Cow (above)

Horse (above), dog (below)

What is Polydactyly?

Polydactyly is a condition in which a person has more than five fingers per hand or five toes per foot. Having an abnormal number of digits (6 or more) can occur on its own, without any other symptoms or disease. Polydactyly may be passed down (inherited) in families. This trait involves only one gene that can cause several variations.

Extra digits may be poorly developed and attached by a small stalk (generally on the little finger side of the hand). Or, they may be well-formed and may even function. Poorly formed digits are usually removed. Typically there is no pain associated with polydactyly.

When the hands and feet are developing in the womb, they start out as flat "paddles" that then normally separate into five digits. Polydactyly occurs when this separation process is excessive, and an extra "segment" is created. This may be caused by a genetic abnormality or by environmental influences.

When the digits are still fused at birth, it is called syndactyly, in which two or more fingers or toes are fused together.

More information can be found HERE and HERE