Vestigial structures are
anatomical structures of
organisms in a
species which are considered to have lost much or all of their original function through
evolution. These body parts can be classed as additional to the required functioning of the body. In
human anatomy, the
vermiform appendix is sometimes classed as a vestigial remnant.
Prosthesis is an artificial extension that replaces a body part, and
cybernetics is the study of computer technology in relation to organisms, which can include replacement or additional body parts.
Body integrity identity disorder (BIID) is a
psychiatric disorder in which a person thinks that they have one or more additional
limbs than they should, despite having two arms and two legs. People with this condition often wish to
amputate what they see as additional body parts. A
phantom limb is the sensation that a missing limb is still attached to the body. This is almost universal in amputees in the first month following an amputation. A
supernumerary phantom limb is the sensation of having an extra limb or body part despite no such limb actually existing. It is an uncommon syndrome, usually due to some kind of brain injuries in the
somatosensory cortex or in some parts of the right hemisphere of the brain, usually due to a
stroke in the brain. A
chimera is an animal or
plant that has two or more different populations of genetically distinct
cells that originated in different
zygotes that have merged. Anatomical structures are typically mixed depending on which cells are prevalent in different body parts. For example, plants can have two different types of flowers. A
mosaic is a genetic anomaly similar in nature and effects to a chimera: genetically different populations of cells within one organism, originated from some propagated mutation of a single cell rather than from outside sources. ==Mythology==