Man Discovers He’s Lived His Whole Life with Three Penises

Doctors in the UK were astonished to discover that a man, whose body had been donated to science, had three penises. This rare condition, known as triphallia, was undetected during the man’s lifetime, as his external genitalia appeared completely normal.

Triphallia is an extremely rare condition, with the first documented case occurring just four years ago in a three-month-old boy from Iraq. The latest discovery, published in the *Journal of Medical Case Reports*, marks only the second recorded case of triphallia in humans and the first involving an adult.

The man, aged 78, was around six feet tall and had an outwardly typical penis. However, when scientists dissected his body, they were surprised to find two additional penises inside. Upon closer inspection, they observed that the urethra ran through both the primary and secondary penises. The secondary penis, smaller in size, contained all three key components of a typical penis—the corpus cavernosum, corpus spongiosum, and the glans (head).

The third penis, positioned behind the second, was not connected to the urethra and lacked the corpus spongiosum. The man’s primary penis measured around three inches, while the other two were about 1.5 inches each.

In their report, the researchers explained, “This case report, based on an extensive literature review, describes the serendipitous discovery during cadaveric dissection of the second reported human case of triphallia, distinctly morphologically different from the previous case.”

As for the cause of such a condition, experts believe it stems from genetic mutations. The penis develops from a tissue known as the genital tubercle, and in this case, the mutations likely led to the formation of three penises. The researchers noted that the urethra initially developed from the secondary penis but later shifted to the primary penis when the secondary penis did not fully develop.

Due to local laws regarding cadaver donations, the man’s identity and medical history remain unknown.