London: A British man, aged 78, unknowingly lived his entire life with three penises due to an extremely rare condition. The man donated his body to the University of Birmingham Medical School where students made the surprising discovery during dissection. Despite his genitals appearing normal externally, further examination revealed two smaller, hidden penises inside his groin.
This rare condition is called triphallia and involves the presence of three distinct penile shafts. It is a form of polyphallia, a congenital anomaly in which a person is born with more than one penis. Polyphallia itself is extremely rare, affecting only one in five to six million live births.
While reports of people with two penises, known as diphallia, have appeared in medical literature dating back to 1606, this case of triphallia is only the second ever recorded. The first was reported in a 3-month-old child.
Man with 3 penises
What makes this man’s case particularly unusual is that his extra penises were concealed within the scrotal sac, making his genitals appear normal from the outside. This likely explains why the condition went undetected during his lifetime and was only found after his death.
The man’s identity and medical history remain undisclosed, so researchers know little about his health. The man was white, in his late 70s and six feet tall.
The three red structures, marked with a pink circle and labelled as number 10 on the diagram, represent the second penis, while the two green structures, labelled as number 6, form the third, smaller penis. | Image: www.jmedicalcasereports.biomedcentral.com
It is possible that he experienced urinary tract infections, erectile dysfunction or fertility issues.
The dissecting team found that one of the extra penises shared a urethra with the main penis. While the smaller members were non-functional, they still contained erectile tissue and tips.
Researchers noted that polyphallia could be more common than realised, especially when extra penises are concealed and cause no symptoms.
