Deformity

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title: "Deformity" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["human-physical-appearance", "anatomy", "developmental-biology"] description: "Physical abnormality in a living organism" topic_path: "science/biology" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deformity" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Physical abnormality in a living organism ::

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/dc/Chinese_circus_performer_with_craniosynostosis,_1927.jpg" caption="Chinese]] circus performer with [[craniosynostosis]], 1927"] ::

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6a/Octopus-sucker-deformity.jpg" caption="sucker cluster]] on an arm of an [[octopus"] ::

A deformity, dysmorphism, or dysmorphic feature is a major abnormality of an organism that makes a part of the body appear or function differently than how it is supposed to.

Causes

Deformity can be caused by a variety of factors:

• Arthritis and other rheumatoid disorders
• Chronic application of external forces, e.g. artificial cranial deformation
• Chronic paresis, paralysis or muscle imbalance, especially in children, e.g. due to poliomyelitis or cerebral palsy
• Complications at birth
• Damage to the fetus or uterus
• Fractured bones left to heal without being properly set (malunion)
• Genetic mutation
• Growth or hormone disorders
• Skin disorders
• Reconstructive surgery following a severe injury, e.g. burn injury
• Mutilation

Deformity can occur in all organisms:

• Frogs can be mutated due to Ribeiroia (Trematoda) infection.
• Plants can undergo irreversible cell deformation
• Insects, such as honeybees, can be affected by deformed wing virus
• Fish can be found with scoliosis due to environmental factors

Mortality

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/47/Acephalus_Boulgakow_1.jpg" caption="pmc=1249928 }}"] ::

In many cases where a major deformity is present at birth, it is the result of an underlying condition severe enough that the baby does not survive very long. The mortality of severely deformed births may be due to a range of complications including missing or non-functioning vital organs, structural defects that prevent necessary function, high susceptibility to injuries, abnormal facial appearance, or infections that eventually lead to death.

In some cases, such as that of twins, one fetus is brought to term healthy, while the other faces major, even life-threatening defects. An example of this is seen in cattle, referred to as amorphous globosus.

In mythology

There are many instances of mythological characters showing signs of a deformity.

• Descriptions of mermaids may be related to the symptoms of sirenomelia.
• The Irish mythology includes the Fomorians, who are almost without exception described as being deformed, possessing only one of what most have two (eyes, arms, legs, etc.) or having larger than normal limbs.
• Hephaestus, of Greek Mythology, was born with a club foot.

References

References

1. (November 1967). "Physical nature of irreversible deformation of plant cells". Plant Physiology.
2. "Body Deformities". Alberta Environment and Parks Environmental Monitoring and Science Division.
3. (1926). ""Arrest of Development of an Embryo. A Case of Acephalus Holoacardiacus showing Arrest of Development of all Tissues in Embryonic Period."". Journal of Anatomy.
4. (1997-10-17). "What makes Hephaestus lame?". American Journal of Medical Genetics.

::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::