In search of the earliest images of symmelia in works of art. Issue 2 (12th May 2021)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Schwartz, Charles E.; Stevenson, Roger E.
• Other Names: Lin Angela guestEditor.; Neri Giovanni guestEditor.; Murali Chaya Nautiyal guestEditor.
• Is Part Of: American journal of medical genetics. Volume 187:Issue 2(2021)
• Page Start: 151
• Page End: 156
• Publication Date: 2021-05-12
• Subjects: mermaid malformation -- paintings -- sculptures -- sirenomelia -- symmelia; Medical genetics -- Periodicals; 616.04205
• DOI: 10.1002/ajmg.c.31856
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1552-4868

Abstract

Abstract: Symmelia (alias sirenomelia, mermaid malformation) is one of the most distinctive malformations which, not surprisingly, has attracted the attention of many artists, writers and other observers of the human condition. Works of art depicting symmelia date back at least two millennia. Some are anatomically based while others are more fanciful creations intended to stir the imagination. The figure of Atargatis as a mermaid on a first century BC coin is one of the earliest known images of symmelia. A nearly 2000‐year‐old Native American pottery figure representing an infant with symmelia is another.