Sunday Word: Lithopedion

[theidolhands.livejournal.com]

lith·o·pe·di·on [lith′əpē′dē·ən]:
origin: (10th Century by Al-Zahrawi) Greek [λίθος παιδίον]; lithos= stone + paidion= child.

noun
"Stone Baby"

A very rare medical condition describing a fossilized infant found inside of a female patient.

This occurs when a child dies from ectopic pregnancy (pregnancy outside the womb), yet the fetus is too large to simply be reabsorbed by the body, and so a protective layer of calcium forms to separate the biological tissues and prevent infection to the mother; ostembryon; calcified fetus.

Eventually the entire corpse ossifies and may not be discovered until many years later. It's usually found during a full medical examination or from X-ray. This article describes a 92 year old woman "giving birth" to her 60 year old child, under just such circumstances.


Less than 300 cases have ever been recorded.

Comments

[med_cat]

I certainly did, both the word and the story in the link; thanks!