In Egypt, a boy has been born with just 1 eye on his forehead. Doctors call this condition "Cyclopia" and in this case say it was caused by radiation exposure of the mother during pregnancy.
The newborn has a single eye in the middle of his forehead and is missing a nose, which has led doctors to believe that it won't survive more than a few days.
Doctors from the hospital in El Senbellawein call this unusual phenomenon cyclopia - a rare condition, earning its name from the cyclopes of Greek mythology, thought for centuries to be nothing but fantasy.
Cyclopia is one of the rarest inborn birth defects, and the known cases from around the world so far have shown that babies with the condition don't live longer than several days.
The deformities of these babies occur while they are still in the mother's womb. The absence of a nose and the single eye are only the visible problems, for they often suffer from serious heart malformations.
In their medical conclusion, the experts believe that there are 2 primary reasons for the newborn Egyptian boy's condition. The 1st is that the mother may have taken strong medications or even opiates during her pregnancy and the 2nd - a potential exposure to radiation.
Dr. Ahmed Badruddin, who is keeping a close watch on the baby's condition, says that the newborn also has other serious deformities on his body, and is unfortunately expecting his health to deteriorate in the coming days.
This type of deformity has been exceptionally rare in the history of medicine but has happened in animals as well as humans. In the majority of the cases, the pregnancy does not last the full 9 months.
Cyclopia is known to us even from the stories of Greek mythology in ancient times. The cyclopes were described as creatures living on the island of Sicily, who had only one eye in the middle of their forehead. Up until recently, this myth was thought a figment of someone's imagination.
