NewScientist.com – Posted by Michael Marshall
The Neurotopia blog draws our attention to an intriguing paper in Acta Medica Okayama. Titled “Phantom erectile penis after sex reassignment surgery”, it’s a report by a group of surgeons at Okayama University in Japan.
They describe a twist on “phantom limb” syndrome, in which people who have lost a limb still experience sensation in it. Their patient experienced a phantom erect penis.
Phantom penises were first observed in 1951, and a 1999 review concluded that they were extremely rare. So what happened here?