33 Medical Oddities We Can’t Believe Are Real
![33 Medical Oddities We Can’t Believe Are Real](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/6/7/8/833678_320x180.jpg)
The things the human body can do is incredible. They’re all made up of a strange combination of meaty bits, salt, water and sentient goo — and while a lot of people put a ton of time and money into figuring out how these flesh suits that our brains live in work, and how to properly fix them when they’re broken, there are still a lot of crazy scenarios we can’t account for. This results in bizarre medical conditions we previously believed shouldn't be possible, or horrifying situations that sounds like they were meant to scare us from ever leaving our house.
While not all of the examples below are terrifying, we’re glad that it’s our job to collect the anecdotes about them into an easily digestible list for you to read as opposed to actually having to try and explain them to patients. We’ll leave that to the smart people who don’t describe bodies as a “flesh suit your brain lives in.”
Who needs to smell while they sleep?
![we lose our sense OF smell When we sleep. GRACKED.GOV](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/6/4/5/833645.jpg)
Toenails aren't in any rush to grow back.
![GRACKED.COM If you lose a fingernail in an accident, it'll take about 6 months to grow back. But it will take three times as long if you lose a toenail in an accident.](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/6/4/7/833647.jpg)
Gentlemen?
![Guys: Doctors can take skin from your forearm and use it to increase the size of your penis. CRACKED.COM](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/6/4/3/833643.jpg)
Redheads get hurt way more easily.
![Redheads are more sensitive to pain than people with brown, black, or blond hair. As a result, they require 20 percent more anesthesia than average to get sedated for surgery. GRACKED.COM](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/6/4/6/833646.jpg)
Look at you, guts for brains!
![Humans have a second brain, and it's located CRACKED.COM in our guts. A neural network comprised of 100 million neurons in our digestive tract is responsible for our mood. Suddenly, gut feeling makes more sense.](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/6/4/4/833644.jpg)
Sandra Laing had a unique condition.
![SANDRA LAING'S CONDITION IS THE COMPLETE OPPOSITE OF ALBINISM. After three generations of all-white ancestors, Laing was born with dark skin and curly black hair. Due to her skin color, she struggled with racism and discrimination in South Africa. Her life was later turned into a documentary film entitled Skin. CRACKED.COM](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/6/4/2/833642.jpg)
The liver is kind of incredible.
![Your liver has a superhuman ability to regrow. Donor Recipient ©2016 The liver can grow back its full size even after 75% of it is removed. When you donate your liver, the donated part will grow back to full size in the host's body; yours will too. CRACKED.COM](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/6/3/9/833639.jpg)
Babies have way more bones than the rest of us.
![Most of us know that an adult skeleton has 206 bones, but did you know... that we are born with over 300 bones? As we grow, some bones fuse together, many in the skull and pelvis. CRACKED COM](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/6/4/1/833641.jpg)
Humans and cats? Bros.
![Humans are genetically closer to cats than dogs. We share 90% of our DNA with cats, but only 84 % with dogs. Considering that most people would rather sleep all day than socialize and play outdoors, this really doesn't come as a big surprise. GRACKED.COM](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/6/4/0/833640.jpg)
Bagels are unexpectedly dangerous.
![2000 people a year are treated for BRIs or bagelrelated-injuries. CRACKED.COM People going to the emergency room from hurting themselves while cutting a bagel is so common it has its own name.](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/6/3/8/833638.jpg)
You've got sweaty, sweaty feet.
![GRAGKED.COM The highest number of sweat glands are found on the soles of your feet. With 250,000 glands, it's no surprise that your feet stink!](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/6/3/4/833634.jpg)
Moms and fetuses working together.
![GRACKED COM If a woman's heart tissue is damaged during pregnancy, her fetus will send stem cells to repair it.](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/6/3/2/833632.jpg)
You never want to hear "We missed a couple" after a pregnancy.
![A MONTH AFTER A BANGLADESHI WOMAN DELIVERED A BABY, SHE WAS RUSHED TO THE HOSPITAL FOR STOMACH PAINS. It turned out she has two wombs and that she was in labor again, giving birth to twins. Arifa Sultana has a condition called uterus didelphys, where a woman develops two uteruses instead of one. CRACKED.COM](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/6/3/6/833636.jpg)
Not quite Wolverine, but close.
![JO CAMERON CAN'T FEEL PAIN AND HEALS WITHOUT SCARS. Doctors first found out about Cameron's condition when she seemed unbothered by a supposedly painful hip problem. She has a mutant gene that also makes her wounds heal without scarring. CRACKED.COM](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/6/3/7/833637.jpg)
A spicy way to get rid of hiccups.
![A MAN WITH PANCREATITIS DEVELOPED PERSISTENT HICCUPS THAT CAN ONLY BE CURED WITH A RECTAL MASSAGE. Different medications were administered to him to no avail. After a few hours, his hiccups came back, and the doctor got rid of it by performing another rectal massage. CRACKED.COM](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/6/2/3/833623.jpg)
Getting mugged made this guy smarter?
![A JOCK GOT MUGGED, SUFFERED FROM A CONCUSSION, AND SUDDENLY BECAME A GENIUS. After recovery, Jason Padgett started seeing geometrical shapes everywhere. Не didn't know what it was, but after a few math classes, he realized it was math fractals he was seeing. Padgett's condition is called acquired savant syndrome. CRACKED.COM](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/6/2/4/833624.jpg)
Hearing voices was helpful this one time.
![A WOMAN'S BRAIN TUMOR WAS DISCOVERED BECAUSE THE VOICES IN HER HEAD TOLD HER TO GET A BRAIN SCAN. The woman, called Patient AB, hallucinated the voices during a time when she showed no other symptoms of a tumor. When the voices wouldn't stop nagging her, she convinced a doctor to have her tested. Once she'd had surgery to remove the tumor, she says the voices thanked her for listening, then said goodbye. CRACKED.COM](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/6/2/2/833622.jpg)
Hamish Syndrome is a better name than "Thigh Kidney Boy."
![A BOY FROM MANCHESTER WAS BORN WITH ONE KIDNEY IN HIS THIGH. Because of a missing chromosome called 7p22.1, Hamish Robinson also has a speech impediment and deafness in one ear. His condition, called Hamish syndrome, is so unique that it was named after him. CRACKED.COM](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/6/2/8/833628.jpg)
Your eyes can actually breathe.
![Like any other organ, a cornea needs oxygen to function but has no blood vessel to supply it. To make up for it, it gets oxygen directly from the air. CRACKED.COM](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/6/3/3/833633.jpg)
Tell this one to your parents.
![Chronic gamers make excellent surgeons. GRACKED.COM According to a 2007 study of students training to become surgeons, long time gamers performed up to 47% better on screen assisted surgeries than non-gamers. Remember this when it is time for a colonoscopy.](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/6/3/1/833631.jpg)
A transplant gives you a third kidney.
![Doctors don't replace your kidney, during a kidney transplant. They add a third one, and transplant in a new ureter to hook it up. CRACKED.COM](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/6/3/5/833635.jpg)
Women can stay mentally sharp for longer.
![Women's brains are four years younger compared to men who are of the same age. According to researchers this is due to an unexplained slower brain metabolism rate, and could also be the reason why women can stay mentally sharp as they age. CRACKED COM](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/6/2/5/833625.jpg)
If it works, it works!
![Hospitals can prescribe alcohol to alcoholic patients! Edi AA ROYAL ALEXANDRA HOSPITALS ETHANOL 40% (45ML) ROYAL ALEXANDRA HOSPITALS ROYAL ALEXANDRA HOSPITAL ETHANOL 48% 1451 (VODKA) ETHANOL 40% (45ML) (VODKA) (VODKA) MANAGED ALCOHOL PROGRAM MANAGED ALCOHOL PROGR MANEG ALCOHOL PROGRAM STORE AT ROOM TEMPERATURE STORE AT ROOM TEMPEROD STORE AT ROOM TEMPERATURE FOR ORAL USE FOR ORAL USE FOR ORAL USE TREE ORANGE TREE FOR a CHU FOR ORAL USE FAT FOR ORAL ONLY ONLY Beer, alcoholic beverages, and IV alcohol is often given to alcoholics before anesthesia to help patients tolerate procedures and help with withdrawal. CRACKED.COM](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/6/2/7/833627.jpg)
When can I unlock my phone by licking it?
![CRACKED.COM Everyone has their own fingerprints. But your tongue also has a one-of-a-kind print. Because of its uniqueness, the tongue could be used in biometric scans or forensic dentistry as an identification tool in the future.](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/6/2/1/833621.jpg)
Rob has it all!
![A BRITISH MAN HAD A FULLY- FUNCTIONING FEMALE REPRODUCTIVE ORGAN. The man, called Rob was thought to have bladder cancer after seeing blood in his urine. It was, in fact, his ovaries that were causing him to pee blood. Rob has a condition called Persistent Mullerian duct syndrome (PMDS). CRACKED.COM](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/6/3/0/833630.jpg)
This guy can't get away with much.
![A PATIENT GETS SICK WHEN НЕ TELLS A LIE. The man, 51, experiences a loss of consciousness, convulsions, hallucinations, and anxiety for more than a third of the time when he lies. His condition is called Pinocchio Syndrome. CRACKED.COM](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/6/2/9/833629.jpg)
Having half a brain isn't as bad as you'd think.
![A WOMAN LIVES A NORMAL LIFE WITH ONLY HALF A BRAIN. When she was 8, Christina Santhouse had to get the right hemisphere of her brain removed due to a condition called Rasmussen's Syndrome. Besides her paralysis in her left arm and visual impairments, she is pretty much fine. CRACKED.COM](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/6/1/7/833617.jpg)
This guy is immune to AIDS.
![A GENETIC DEFECT MADE STEPHEN CROHN IMMUNE TO AIDS. Crohn had a mutation in his white blood cells that kept most strains of HIV from penetrating and affecting them. Не helped advance research towards combating the disease. CRACKED.COM](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/6/2/0/833620.jpg)
A weird way to pick up an accent.
![AN AUSTRALIAN WOMAN DEVELOPED A FRENCH ACCENT AFTER A CAR ACCIDENT. Leanne Rowe is not happy with having an accent that isn't her native Australian one, and often avoids talking to people. Her condition is called Foreign Accent Syndrome. CRACKED.COM](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/6/1/9/833619.jpg)
It's not a tumor! Really.
![A middle-aged man was thought to have a tumor in his lung. IT TURNED OUT TO BE A TOY TRAFFIC CONE НЕ INHALED WHEN НЕ WAS SEVEN. 0.5 Не suffered no complications for 40 years, until recently when he suffered from pneumonia. The man's condition has improved since the removal of the 1-cm cone. CRACKED.COM](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/6/2/6/833626.jpg)
Your surgeon might leave their car keys... inside of you.
![Every year in the US at least 4,000 items are left inside patients after surgery. In the medical world it is known as retained surgical items. GRACKED.COM](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/6/1/8/833618.jpg)
Your Mom thinks you don't stink!
![Think all poop stinks? Not to your mother. Scientists found that when mothers sniffed and rated various samples of baby poop, they reported that poop from their own babies smelled less nasty. It actually makes sense. If mothers are less disgusted by their own children, they'll take better care of them. CRACKED.COM](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/6/1/5/833615.jpg)
What's happening to German soldiers?
![CRACKED.COM Soldiers in an elite German unit are growing left breasts. w on m 123 In their drill, they're hitting that side of their chests with rifles over and over, and that seems to be making breast tissue grow. Scientists just aren't sure how.](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/6/1/6/833616.jpg)