Lynne’s specialty, developmental pediatrics, is all about how infants and children develop and is closely related to neurology in many cases. So, when she read about a case of an infant with a head circumference too big for the baby’s age, it took her right back to her clinical training. However, the cause of the enlargement was not what she expected. This week, Lynne will discuss the unusual phenomenon in which one fetus absorbs another.

Special note: Dr. Helen Shui is truly a doctor, but is working under a pseudonym for privacy reasons. Dr. Lynne Kramer is using her real name.

Music by Helen Shui and Caplixo. Cover art by Lynne Kramer.

Sources:

1. Intracranial Parasitic Fetus in a Living Infant: A Case Study with Surgical Intervention and Prognosis Analysis by Xuewei Qin, Xuanling Chen, Xin Zhao, Bo Wang, Lan Yao, Hongchuan Niu

2. Teaching NeuroImage: Intraventricular Fetus-in-Fetu With Extensive De Novo Gain in Genetic Copy Number by Zongze Li, MD, Li Ma, MD, PhD, Yuanli Zhao, MD, PhD, and Chunde Li, MD

3. Girl, 1, is found to have a FETUS growing in her skull that was once her twin sister by Maiya Focht

4. Fetus in fetu: Review of the literature over the past 15 years by Lindsey M. Prescher, William J. Butler, Tyler A. Vachon, Marion C. Henry, Thomas Latendresse, Romeo C. Ignacio Jr.

5. Fetus in fetu – a rare developmental anomaly by Della Harigovind, Harish Babu SP, Sunil V Nair, Nazim Sangram

6. Fetus in Fetu: Lessons Learned from a Large Multicenter Cohort Study by Heba M. A. Taher et. al.

7. Fetus-in-fetu by Philippe Jeanty, MD, PhD Kay Caldwell, RDMS Patricia Dix, MD

8. Monochorionic Diamniotic Twin Gestations by Karin M. Fuchs, Mary E. D'Alton

9. Monochorionic Twins via Wikipedia

10. Embryology, Week 1 by Yusuf S. Khan; Kristin M. Ackerman.

11. Embryology, Week 2-3 by Baryiah Rehman; Maria Rosaria Muzio.

12. Teratoma via Cleveland Clinic

13. Data Table of Infant Head Circumference-for-age Charts via CDC Website

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