I recently read an article about a man who had twelve fingers and twelve toes. Is there a word for this genetic anomaly?
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6Hello, my name is Inigo Montoya...– Jordaan MylonasSep 27, 2011 at 0:47
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5Someone was looking for you.– DanielSep 27, 2011 at 0:50
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I think i know the guy you are talking about. Where he has "perfect" polydactylism. When i first saw his picture i knew something was wrong, but wasn't sure because it really looked normal.– MattSep 27, 2011 at 5:34
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2 Answers
The word is polydactyly. The Wikipedia link has some cool pictures and x-rays.
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2Just as a sidenote: polydactyly is often a dominant trait, and will be seen often in families.– DarwySep 26, 2011 at 19:25
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4I suspect they also tend to get a LOT of Princess Bride references thrown at them.– fluffySep 26, 2011 at 19:59
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3I read a science fiction story many decades ago in which the characters surmised that we used base ten because many thousands of years ago our ancestors must have had ten fingers instead of twelve. If this trait is truly dominant.... Sep 27, 2011 at 13:37
The medical term for this condition is known as polydactyly or polydactylism.
You can refer to these extra pieces of flesh as supernumerary body parts. You can have a supernumerary amount of toes, fingers or any other body part, as list of which can be found here.
