Dec 31, 2024 03:02 AM
(This post was last modified: Dec 31, 2024 09:26 PM by C C.)
https://www.sciencealert.com/stone-baby-...e-the-body
EXCERPT: Every now and then, a fertilized human egg starts to develop into a fetus outside the uterus, within the mother's abdominal cavity. Known as an abdominal pregnancy, this is very dangerous, and potentially fatal.
In a very small percentage of abdominal pregnancies, the body is able to protect itself when the fetus dies – by turning the fetus to 'stone'.
It's not actually stone, but metal. The mother's body permeates the fetus with the metallic mineral calcium, a major component of bones, in a process known as calcification. This safely quarantines the fetus from the mother's own body, and thus protects her from sepsis.
The official term for such a calcified fetus is lithopedion – from the ancient Greek for 'stone baby' – and the phenomenon is so rare, at least in terms of it being discovered, it's only been documented a few hundred times over the course of human history.
What makes it particularly remarkable is that, more often than not, the stone baby can remain undetected in the mother's body for years – even decades, remaining undiscovered until well past menopause, or, in some cases, death.
The mother can even gestate and birth other babies, completely unaware of the calcium-encrusted fetal remains. A lithopedion is thought to occur in 1.5 to 1.8 percent of abdominal pregnancies, but nowhere near that many are documented... (MORE - missing details)
EXCERPT: Every now and then, a fertilized human egg starts to develop into a fetus outside the uterus, within the mother's abdominal cavity. Known as an abdominal pregnancy, this is very dangerous, and potentially fatal.
In a very small percentage of abdominal pregnancies, the body is able to protect itself when the fetus dies – by turning the fetus to 'stone'.
It's not actually stone, but metal. The mother's body permeates the fetus with the metallic mineral calcium, a major component of bones, in a process known as calcification. This safely quarantines the fetus from the mother's own body, and thus protects her from sepsis.
The official term for such a calcified fetus is lithopedion – from the ancient Greek for 'stone baby' – and the phenomenon is so rare, at least in terms of it being discovered, it's only been documented a few hundred times over the course of human history.
What makes it particularly remarkable is that, more often than not, the stone baby can remain undetected in the mother's body for years – even decades, remaining undiscovered until well past menopause, or, in some cases, death.
The mother can even gestate and birth other babies, completely unaware of the calcium-encrusted fetal remains. A lithopedion is thought to occur in 1.5 to 1.8 percent of abdominal pregnancies, but nowhere near that many are documented... (MORE - missing details)