Some babies are born with a tail, and the reasons for this are very curious.

Humans don’t usually have tails, we all know that. However, there were cases when children born with it. In total, 40 cases of the so-called human tail, although there may be others that have not been disclosed. The tail itself is usually not a problem, as it can be easily removed surgically. However, there is some controversy as to whether this represents anything pathological.

For many years it was thought not. It was believed that the human tail was a relic of the tail of our ancestors and that if it was removed, the person would no longer have problems. But unfortunately, as new cases have been reported, it has been found that most babies born with a tail tend to have other spinal problems, such as: meningocele or spina bifida.

This means that children will need to be followed up for possible health problems. They may even require additional surgery. One thing is clear: contrary to what some countries think, the human tail is not something to be ashamed of.

How is the human tail?

A person has two types of tail. What is known as a human tail or real tail has no bonesunlike other animals. It has muscles, connective tissue, blood vessels and nerves. It is always covered in skin, can be up to 13 centimeters long, and usually emerges from the coccyx.

Instead, what is known as pseudotail it has a bone and is an extension of the coccyx. Returning to the real human tail, it is believed that it was formed by some mistake during embryonic development. And it is that when we are embryos there is a moment when we all have a tail. It forms around fifth week of development and consists of neural tube and notochord, which is a kind of early spinal cord. Normal in week eight this human tail disappears, which is why almost all of us are born without it.

Children with a boneless tail are thought to have experienced a developmental error that prevented the tail from disappearing. That’s why, there may be other defects in your spinal cordwhich eventually formed from the chord attached to the tail.

What problems might these children have?

Cases of six children were published in 2012, with age from 3 days to 2 yearsall of them with human tails of different lengths and characteristics.

There were twice as many boys as girls, which is consistent with other previous studies. All had tail surgery, but some had other problems requiring further testing. Three of them had spina bifida and one had a meningocele.. Spina bifida occurs when the fetal spinal cord does not close properly during the first month of pregnancy. This can damage the nerves and spinal cord, causing serious problems in children. All of this is closely related to the disappearance of the tail at eight weeks, so it was not uncommon for 3 out of 6 babies in this human tail study to have spina bifida. In fact, this is consistent with other studies that suggest that 50% of babies with tails also have spina bifida.

As for the meningocele, it is a cyst-like sac that protrudes from a defective opening in the spinal cord. A child with this problem had to undergo another surgical intervention, in addition to the removal of the human tail.

Therefore, it was concluded that perhaps the tail is not something as harmless as it is believed. Interestingly, in some countries, such as India, this is considered a sign of good luck. In other countries, it is considered the opposite, so parents don’t you dare take your kids to the doctor.

The only thing that is certain is that it does not make those born with it any better or worse, but it is something that needs to be paid attention to in order to provide children with the necessary medical care.