Real Life Mermaid: Rare Mermaid Syndrome Could Have Inspired the Idea of the Mythical Creature [Watch Video]
Sirenomelia - Also Known as 'Mermaid Syndrome' Is a Fatal Illness
Several stories about mermaids have done the rounds since centuries. The creature is a part of several mythological stories, fairy tales and folklore.
They are half fish and half human creatures that have always been described to be beautiful and magical. The famous fairy tale, "The Little Mermaid," by Hans Christian Andersen was made into a Disney classic fascinating several children around the world.
While there are several stories regarding the origin of mermaids, Medical historian Lindsey Fitzharris, who has a PhD from Oxford University, told MailOnline that the concept of the half human half fish creature could have emerged from a medical condition. Pointing to the "Mermaid Syndrome," the medical term being Sirenomelia, Fitzharris said that it could have inspired the stories regarding the mythical creature.
The "Mermaid syndrome" is a birth deformity that is life threatening. The sufferer's legs are fused making them look like the tail of the fish. MailOnline reported that the condition occurs when there is a failure of the normal vascular supply that occurs when the umbilical cord fails to form arteries.
This causes a loss of blood and nutrition in the lower body and the nutrition is sent back up into the placenta, she explained. This less nutrition to the lower part of the body causes the legs to fuse.
This syndrome is extremely rare and affects only one in 100,000 babies, she revealed, also stating that it is more probable that it would affect identical twins. Most babies die in the womb, if born they only live for a few days.
Dr Fitzharris, author of the blog The Chirurgeon's Apprentice, said that even after a lot of research about the disorder she could not collect enough information regarding its history.
"Perhaps because the disorder is so rare, it's also been hard for me to locate specimens in anatomical collections," she said. No one in the record with 'Sirenomelia have survived she said. The cause of death would be kidney or bladder failure.
Tiffany Yorks that was born in 1988 is the oldest person who has survived the condition. She underwent surgery and her legs were separated, but she still uses crutches. Milagros Cerron born with the syndrome was the second to survive it after she underwent a series of operations from the age of two in 2006. She has been nicknamed as 'the little mermaid.'
After several surgeries that included urinary tract reconstructive surgery and kidney transplants, she still has 16 surgeries to go to reconstruct and repair her digestive, urinary and sexual organs.
Source: YouTube/firecrackerfilms
