Not really sure what the fuss is about here. They give the impression that this poor baby is something unique, but Cyclopia is a well known condition; you'll see similar pictures in a decent paediatrics textbook. The cause is similar to that which gives rise to a cleft palate. As the foetus develops from a 'tubelike' form to the human form, it needs to subdivide to create the two symmetrical halves of the body (i.e. left arm / right arm). Occasionally, this process doesn't complete properly, and the palate isn't complete, or in the case of cyclopia, the two sides of the face don't divide in to two. If you look closely in the textbooks, the one 'cyclops' eye is actually two fused very closely together. Grisly but gripping.
Not really sure what the fuss is about here. They give the impression that this poor baby is something unique, but Cyclopia is a well known condition; you'll see similar pictures in a decent paediatrics textbook. The cause is similar to that which gives rise to a cleft palate. As the foetus develops from a 'tubelike' form to the human form, it needs to subdivide to create the two symmetrical halves of the body (i.e. left arm / right arm). Occasionally, this process doesn't complete properly, and the palate isn't complete, or in the case of cyclopia, the two sides of the face don't divide in to two. If you look closely in the textbooks, the one 'cyclops' eye is actually two fused very closely together. Grisly but gripping.
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