Alex Lewis, victim of flesh eating bacteria
Alex Lewis of Hampshire was nearly killed after what he thought was a common cold triggered a strep A infection, blood poisoning and toxic shock syndrome. His organs shut down and he was left...
Category: Medical Conditions
Strange, unfortunate, and grotesque medical oddities.
Leontiasis ossea, a.k.a. “lion face”
Leontiasis Ossea, also known as leontiasis or lion face, is a rare medical condition, characterized by an overgrowth of the facial and cranial bones. It is not a disease in itself, but a symptom of other diseases, including Paget’s disease, fibrous dysplasia, hyperparathyroidism and renal osteodystrophy....
Myiasis following maxillofacial tissue loss
Myiasis is a term that describes tissue infestation by a fly larva. This instance wasn’t caused solely by maggots infesting the oral tissue. This patient was featured in a South American medical journal. He...
Man dying of rabies (video)
For a human, rabies is almost invariably fatal if postexposure prophylaxis is not administered prior to the onset of severe symptoms. The rabies virus infects the central nervous system, ultimately causing disease in the...
Vibrio vulnificus inside a Chinese boy’s head
The picture shows a Chinese boy infected with Vibrio vulnificus, one of the “flesh-eating” bacterias that can cause necrotizing fasciitis. V. vulnificus enters the body through open wounds when swimming or wading in infected...
Guinea Worm infection
Guinea worm disease is caused by drinking water contaminated by water fleas (microscopic arthropods known as copepods) that host the Dracunculus larva. Guinea worm disease used to thrive in some of the world’s poorest...
Untreated seropositive rheumatoid arthritis of the hands
Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is an autoimmune disease that results in a chronic, systemic inflammatory disorder that may affect many tissues and organs, but principally attacks flexible (synovial) joints. It can be a disabling and...
Squamous cell carcinoma
Squamous-cell carcinoma (SCC or SqCC) is a cancer of a kind of epithelial cell, the squamous cell. These cells are the main part of the epidermis of the skin, and this cancer is one...
A corpse sitting up on the slab due to the effects of rigor mortis
Rigor mortis (Latin: rigor “stiffness”, mortis “of death”) is one of the recognizable signs of death, caused by chemical changes in the muscles after death, causing the limbs of the corpse to become stiff...
Flesh-eating disease of the face
Necrotizing fasciitis , commonly known as flesh-eating disease or flesh-eating bacteria syndrome, is a rare infection of the deeper layers of skin and subcutaneous tissues, easily spreading across the fascial plane within the subcutaneous...
Noma – gangrenous tissue destruction of the face
Noma, also known as cancrum oris or gangrenous stomatitis, is a gangrenous disease leading to tissue destruction of the face, especially the mouth and cheek. Noma was observed in Nazi concentration camps in World...
Toxic Epidermal Necrolysis, a.k.a. Stevens–Johnson Syndrome
Toxic Epidermal Necrolysis, also known as Stevens–Johnson Syndrome, is a condition where the top layer your skin literally falls off. Caused by an allergic reaction to drugs, it can be fatal. A number of...
The bubble man
Chandra Wisnu, 57, is thought to be one of the few people in the world with a rare skin disease which causes large, bubble-like lumps to develop all over his body.
Teratoma / teratocarcinoma tumor
Teratomas (also called teratocarcinomas when cancerous) are the ugliest things to ever come out of the human body. The name basically means “monster cancer” and it fits. They’re tumors of the ovaries or testicles....
Subcutaneous phycomycosis
Subcutaneous phycomycosis is a rare fungal infection of the deeper layers of skin.
Angioneurotic edema
Sudden onset (A) and complete resolution within 24 hours (B). Angioedema (BE: angiooedema) or Quincke’s edema is the rapid swelling (edema) of the dermis, subcutaneous tissue, mucosa and submucosal tissues. It is very similar...
Guillain-barre syndrome
A rapidly progressive, acute inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy characterized by muscle weakness and paralysis of the extremities and possible respiratory paralysis with abnormal sensation and loss of reflexes. The cause is unknown, but Guillain-Barre syndrome...
