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Posterior ectopia of penis mimics marsupial anatomy

Case reported in association with a primitive cloacal anomaly

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Abstract

In kangaroos, the penis lies posterior to the scrotum. We report an infant born with a similar arrangement initially thought to be penile agenesis. In addition, there was a dysplastic horseshoe kidney: two ureters and the rectum drained into a primitive cloaca which in turn drained externally through an anal canal. Previous reports of “penile agenesis” have consistently described a perineal skin tag immediately anterior to the anus; postmortem dissection of this patient revealed intact corpora extending from the pubis to the perineal appendage into which ran the urethra, suggesting that the patient had concealed posterior ectopia rather than penile agenesis.

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Beasley, S.W., Hutson, J.M., Howat, A.J. et al. Posterior ectopia of penis mimics marsupial anatomy. Pediatr Surg Int 2, 127–130 (1987). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00174192

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00174192

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