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#3
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04-12-2012, 01:24 PM
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| My Rank: LANCE CORPORAL Poster Rank:2113 Female Join Date: Sep 2011 Posts: 228 Mentioned: 0 Post(s) Quoted: 40 Post(s)
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Re: Lithopedion Baby
These always fascinate me. It's incredible that babies in any species are born even halfway properly, let alone 100% properly. "Stone babies" as these are often referred to are just amazing.
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#7
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04-13-2012, 01:26 PM
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| My Rank: LANCE CORPORAL Poster Rank:2113 Female Join Date: Sep 2011 Posts: 228 Mentioned: 0 Post(s) Quoted: 40 Post(s)
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Re: Lithopedion Baby
From what I understand, they die in the womb and the body then sees it as an infection/parasite. The immune system kicks in and forms a type of shield around it to protect the body from the dead tissue. The baby can't be reabsorbed like it can be in rabbits (who reabsorb entire litters if conditions aren't right). The baby isn't really made of stone like the rocks outside. It's all calcified, which is a component of many rocks but is also found in the body (bones). I'm not really sure why in these cases, the baby isn't miscarried. I guess it has something to do with what age the baby dies, but can't confirm. In most cases, miscarriages are the result of a dead fetus, but I guess something goes wrong in these cases. |