12 wild medical cases we covered in 2025

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Each week, Live Science highlights an interesting case report from the medical literature, where we explore unusual symptoms, rarely seen diagnoses and out-of-the-box treatments. through this “Diagnostic dilemmas“In the series, we describe how doctors work to ultimately find the cause of a patient’s illness. In complex cases, this diagnostic process can be very difficult. That’s part of the reason doctors share case reports: to help other medical professionals who may be facing the same conundrum.

Here are 12 of our most intriguing diagnostic dilemmas of the past year. (If descriptions of medical symptoms and procedures give you chills, proceed with caution.)

1. The boy spoke a foreign language after the operation

A Dutch teenager underwent knee surgery to treat a soccer injury, and after waking up from anesthesia, he spoke only English – a language he had previously only spoken in language classes at school. He insisted he was in America, did not know his parents and could not speak or understand his native Dutch. Examinations showed no neurological abnormalities, and doctors did not initiate any specific treatment to address the language problem. Within 18 hours of surgery, the boy could understand some Dutch but could not speak without struggle. But suddenly, he could both understand and speak normally. Doctors called the incident a “The Strange Case of the Foreign Language Syndrome.”.”

2. A woman with an unopened vagina gets pregnant through oral sex

A teenage girl reported to the hospital with abdominal pain and early tests She revealed that she was nine months pregnant And she was having contractions. When doctors examined the patient’s reproductive tract, they discovered that her vagina had not opened—a rare condition called distal vaginal atresia. Because of this, the medical team had to deliver the baby — a healthy, 6.2-pound (2.8 kg) boy — via cesarean section. The teenager was seen at the same hospital about nine months ago, after an ex stabbed her after finding a new boyfriend. Her doctors told her that pregnancy was unlikely because the stab wounds allowed sperm to exit her digestive tract and enter her reproductive tract.

3. The man was stung by a large fish

A person injured while fishing was brought to the hospital by boat and helicopter. He caught a white marlin (Kazikia albida) — a large fish with a long, pointed “bill” — and as he leaned over the side of his boat to release his hook from the fish, it jumped and hit him. Doctors at the hospital A piece of fish bill around a man’s neckThe spinal canal and the base of his skull. With emergency surgery and antibiotics to prevent infection, the man survived the encounter without any long-term symptoms.

4. Acupuncture hurt the joint

A woman with knee osteoarthritis started getting regular acupuncture when her pain medication started causing bad stomach problems. But her knee hurt too much, and she went to the hospital to get checked out. X-rays revealed areas of her joints and shinbones where the bone tissue had thickened and formed spurs. Additionally, hundreds of tiny flakes can be seen around both knee joints. It turned out that the woman had acupuncture The golden thread was deliberately left inside his knee As part of her treatment. In other cases, these threads cause cysts and tissue damage, which can occur as they move through the body.

5. Humans experience rare meat allergies

A Michigan man went to an ER with a swollen eyelid and an itchy rash, and said he had been experiencing cramps, nausea, abdominal pain, and vomiting for the past few days. As doctors examined the patient, they discovered signs of anaphylaxis, a severe allergic reaction, and her condition quickly deteriorated. The medical team successfully stabilized the patient, but after a few days, his condition worsened again. At that point, doctors discovered a pattern: Symptoms appeared when people ate red meat. A meat allergy, a condition called alpha-gal syndrome, can be triggered by the bite of certain tick species. It was discovered that The man was an avid deer hunter who likely encountered an adult tick Or a larval tick while hunting, her doctor concluded.

6. The woman had XY chromosomes in her blood

A woman after a pregnancy loss has her chromosomes tested to determine whether there may be an underlying genetic cause for the miscarriage. The test revealed that at least in the woman’s blood, her chromosomal profile (or karyotype) was 46,XY—a typical karyotype among men. Further tests revealed that in her remaining tissues, her karyotype was 46,XX, the typical female chromosomal profile. Women were fraternal twins, So in this case “chimerism“The XY chromosome may have come from her unborn brother but somehow got incorporated into her blood cells,” the doctors concluded. Doctors suspected that at some point “the veins and arteries of the two babies became entangled in the umbilical cord”. The woman’s pregnancy carried these chromosomes and carried them into the bloodstream, with no obvious symptoms. One baby boy.

7. Woman injects herself with black widow venom

A woman went to the emergency room with a headache, severe pain and muscle aches, as well as an elevated pulse, respiratory rate, and blood pressure. She told the doctors she had tried Get high by injecting a ground-up black widow spider (thief) in their veins in a suspension of distilled water. Doctors suspect that the injected dose of black widow venom may be higher than that received from a single bite, and that the effect may be exacerbated by the patient’s allergic reaction to a protein in the venom. After the patient was treated for several days in the intensive care unit, her symptoms resolved and she was discharged.

8. Nut allergy was triggered by ejaculation

A woman developed swelling under the skin and breathing problems after having sex with her partner. While being treated at the hospital, she said she was allergic to Brazil nuts. She said her partner had eaten a few hours before sex but he had showered and washed his hands thoroughly before sex. When doctors performed skin-prick allergy tests using a partner’s semen sample before and after eating Brazil nuts, they found that Allergy triggers can actually pass into semen and set off a woman’s allergies.

9. Ras migrated mysteriously

Following cancer treatment, a man developed a red rash that started near the anus and then rapidly spread to the trunk and legs. A rash that looks like wavy lines all over the patient’s body. The lines appeared to migrate, starting in one spot and then moving across the skin. It was found out when the stool was tested Strongyloides stercoralisA parasite that can cause an infection in humans called strongyloidiasis. These worms migrated under the skin of humans, and because the glucocorticoids used in cancer treatment stunted the patient’s immune system, infection could occur.

10. Performed rare tooth-in-eye surgery

A rare autoimmune disorder has damaged a man’s cornea and severely impaired his vision. Doctors tried to restore vision in one eye Osteo-odonto-keratoprosthesis, or “tooth-in-eye surgeryThe procedure involves removing one of the patient’s teeth and implanting it into the eye socket, where it acts as a platform for a transparent, plastic lens. The lens stands in for the injured cornea and enables light to enter the eye. The successful man procedure was the first of its kind in Canada.

11. “Muscle-plumping” injections cause calcium spikes

A man went to the hospital with weakness and vomiting. There, tests revealed he had kidney failure and high calcium levels in his blood. Physical examination and scans revealed abnormalities in her upper arm and chest muscles—namely, areas of superdense calcification. It turned out that the man was first Receive injections of oil-based substances, such as silicone, to “thicken” your muscles. In this case, the injections triggered a persistent foreign-body response, resulting in extensive muscle scarring and calcium leakage into the bloodstream.

12. Scientist catches plague from defiant bacteria

Other dilemmas

—A woman was tasting bleach—and doctors found the cause hidden in her blood

-A botched penile tattoo leaves a man with a permanent semi-erection

A man was sent to the ER after he couldn’t pass gas while eating a 7-pound burger

A laboratory worker came down with an infection that, despite medical treatment, ended fatally. His doctors informed the patient that he was dealing with a weak strain Wash Yersinias, bacteria that cause plague. of this weak form The germ was thought to be non-infectious, but humans contracted it nonetheless. Further tests revealed that the man’s blood iron levels were abnormally high. One way the plague bacterium was weakened was that its key iron-absorbing gene was removed—but human blood, which was rich in iron, may have enabled the germs to overcome this weakness and establish a fatal infection.

For more interesting medical cases, check out our Diagnostic dilemma archive.

This article is for informational purposes only and is not intended to provide medical advice.