‘Parasitic Unborn Twin’ Found Inside Skull Of One-Year-Old Girl

As delicate and intricate as our bodies are, they're capable of some truly astounding things that you would think shouldn't be possible. Whether we're surviving horrible injuries or healing from otherwise fatal trauma, we're miraculously resilient! But at the same time, a paper cut that gets infected or a particularly bad cold can be enough to bring us down, so we're also incredibly fragile.

What becomes even more astounding is watching a child survive things that sound impossible, like a whole other human being growing inside of them.

If you're looking for more information on your life and your individual sign, then you'll need your own zodiac reading. We're each on our own unique path and what some struggle with this season, might not be applicable to you too.

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Hidden Within Us

Pexels / Kristina Paukshtite

A common concept in horror is the idea of something or someone controlling us without our permission. Being possessed by a ghost, hosting an alien inside our bodies, a demon controlling our whims and desires—all these leave us with that same fear of something being in our skin without our permission.

For some, this is more than a supernatural fear that could never come to be, but an actual reality, where their body is being used to grow something foreign inside them.

Early Concerns

Pexels / Mart Production

This rarely-seen, frightening medical anomaly was recently discovered in a one-year-old girl in China, shocking neurologists worldwide.

It all began when the girl's parents brought her to the hospital for some scans as she was sporting an enlarged head and was struggling with her motor skills. They assumed the two issues were connected and were greatly concerned for their baby's safety.

Well, they were right, there was certainly something wrong with her brain that was impeding her motor development, but it was far and beyond what they ever could have expected.

A Horrific Discovery

Neurology

Doctors performed CT scans on the young girl's skull and were shocked to discover a four-inch parasitic fetus within her brain.

This condition, wherein an underdeveloped twin's fetus fuses to the host twin and continues growing within them, is called fetus-in-fetu.

It's not a common condition, especially within the skull, but it has been documented around the world. Other areas where a parasitic twin has latched onto a host have been within the pelvis, mouth, intestines, and scrotum.

Some Loose Ideas

Neurology

Fetus-in-fetu is caused by the incomplete separation of identical twins, as twins are formed when one egg splits in the womb. There's no consensus on how this incomplete split takes place, and doctors remain baffled about the cause of the phenomenon.

As the larger, healthier twin grows, the second one becomes absorbed into them as it latches onto anything for strength. Some have theorized that this takes place due to the healthy twin connecting to the mother via the placenta while the weaker twin only connects to the other's blood vessels, while others think it takes place to do late cell division.

Half-Baked

Neurology

Though the second twin is unviable, it can continue to grow inside its twin even after birth, developing further and further until someone takes notice, like what happened to the young girl in China.

Once the CT scans revealed the existence of her twin that was pressing against her brain, doctors knew they had to remove it immediately. By the time they were able to extract it, it had been growing inside the girl's skull for months, long enough for it to develop bones, organs, and limbs.

Still Unknown

Unsplash / National Cancer Institute

The entire case was studied heavily, so much so that it was published as a story in the American Academy of Neurology's journal, Neurology.

Dr. Zongze Li, a neurologist at Huashan Hospital who treated the girl, said, "The intracranial fetus-in-fetu is proposed to arise from unseparated blastocysts. The conjoined parts develop into the forebrain of the host fetus and envelop the other embryo during neural plate folding."

They reported that the parasitic twin was able to survive for so long as it shared a blood supply with the healthy twin, and though the extraction was a success, there's no knowing if the healthy twin will suffer any long-term damage caused by the parasite.

Triple The Size

Pexels / Edwin Ariel

Though this type of case is exceedingly rare, it's not the first time a parasitic twin has been discovered inside a child's skull. In 2017, doctors in Thailand found not just one, but three siblings inside the skull of an unborn girl.

They said that each sibling has "multiple well-developed organs" which included a nervous, digestive, and respiratory system. They were all connected to the host sibling by a single artery and vein, which doctors said had once been the umbilical cord.

What We're Unknowingly Capable Of

Unsplash / Inge Poelman

As mentioned, this is an extremely rare condition. Only 200 cases have ever been documented, and even rarer still, only 18 of these cases have taken place within the host twin's skull, so if you're pregnant or have a young child, this isn't something worth worrying about.

That said, it's fascinating and terrifying how the human body can create such a monstrous condition. It truly sounds like something from a horror or sci-fi movie, maybe even both. Though it's far from common, knowing it's possible to contain a parasitic human inside your own body is chilling enough.

Understand your purpose and your potential so that you can take control of your emotions, your life, and your future by clicking HERE.

Daniel Mitchell-Benoit

Dan is a content writer with three years of experience under their belt, having mostly covered viral media but now shifting toward spirituality and astrology. He's a strong believer in using one's beliefs as a means of self-improvement and being in touch with whatever messages the universe has to offer. He can't wait to share his insights with an audience who wants to foster change and betterment within themselves. Outside of writing, Dan enjoys reading tarot cards, playing video games, all things horror, coffee, and his cat!