Today, during the penultimate day of our fetal pig dissection, not one but TWO of our specimens were discovered to be hermaphroditic. A hermaphrodite is an organism that possesses both male and female reproductive organs. The word originates from the two Greek gods Hermes and Aphrodite whose baby was fused with a nymph to produce a creature with both male and female genitalia.
According to research by Mr. Ott, hermaphrodites occur in pigs in about 0.1 to 0.6% of all births. The specimens that we examined appear to have fully formed ovaries and uteri, but have under-developed (but full-sized) testes. See the picture above for more detail. Neither Mr. Ott or I have ever seen a hermaphrodite pig, let alone two, and we have dissected hundreds between us!
Many thanks to Ashley, Tiffany and Sam for bringing this condition to my attention!
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