Self-cannibalism
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Self-cannibalism is the practice of eating oneself, also called autocannibalism,[1] autophagy[2] and autosarcophagy.[3]
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[edit] Self-cannibalism among humans
[edit] As a natural occurrence
A certain amount of self-cannibalism occurs unwittingly, as the body consumes dead cells from the tongue and cheeks.
Catabolisis is also sometimes described as "self-cannibalism."
[edit] As a disorder or symptom thereof
One disorder known to cause autocannibalism is Lesch-Nyhan syndrome which features "self-mutilating behaviors, characterized by lip and finger biting." Sixty percent of Lesch-Nyhan sufferers have to have their teeth removed to prevent them from biting off their lips, cheeks, tongues, and other parts. Similar symptoms are exhibited in Fragile X syndrome and Cornelia de Lange syndrome.[4]
Acute pancreatitis can involve the auto-digestion of the pancreas.
Fingernail-biting that develops into fingernail-eating is a form of pica. Other forms of pica include the compulsion of eating one's own hair (also trichophagia and Rapunzel syndrome), which can form a hairball (trichobezoar) in the stomach.
[edit] As a choice
Some people will engage in self-cannibalism as an extreme form of body modification, for example eating their own skin.[5] Others will drink their own blood, a practice called autovampirism.[6] Some women choose to eat their own placenta.[7]
Sometimes it's common for one to bite the excess skin around their fingernails (usually the nail groove) and 'eat' the bitten piece. It is also common to bite off dead skin from dry lips and swallow it.
[edit] As a crime
Allegations of forced self-cannibalism as a form of torture or war crime are not uncommon. It had been alleged that the infamous Erzsébet Báthory forced some of her servants to eat their own flesh.[8] It has also been alleged that in the 16th Century, colonizers forced Amerindians to eat their own testicles.[9] Allegations were also made in the years following the 1991 coup in Haiti.[10] In the 1990s it had been alleged that young people in Sudan were forced to eat their own ears.[11]
One famous case of self-cannibalism is the Armin Meiwes trial. One of the persons involved, Bernd Jürgen Armando Brandes, had hoped to engage in self-cannibalism before being cannibalized himself, although it is unclear if he actually did so.
[edit] Self-cannibalism among animals
The short-tailed cricket is known to eat its own wings.[12]
Mice will also eat their own tails when they starve.
[edit] Self-cannibalism in fiction
- Lesch-Nyhan disorder is featured in the novel The Cobra Event by Richard Preston.
- The ancient symbol Ouroboros depicts a snake or dragon swallowing its own tail.
- Stephen King's short story "Survivor Type", about a man trapped on a small island.
- Ryan, Alan (1984) "The Bones Wizard", Whispers.
- Roger, Frank, "The Implosion of a Gastrocrat: an Experiment in Autophagy".
- In the manga One Piece the character Zeff eats his own foot while marooned on an island.
- In the novel Hannibal, Hannibal Lecter recalls psychologically manipulating a handicapped patient of his into eating his own face with his dog. In the course of the novel Lecter also feeds part of a man's brain to that man involuntarily.
- In issue #5 of the Marvel Comic Livewires, Stem Cell ate most of her own skin so that she could use it as base material for constructing her Pyronano "babies". Afterwards, she considered adopting "Autocannibal" as her name.
- In an episode of South Park, David Blaine ate his own head.
[edit] See also
[edit] Notes
- ^ "Man-eaters: The Evidence for Coastal Tupi Cannibalism" mei(sh) dot org
- ^ Benecke, Mark "First report of non-psychotic self-cannibalism (autophagy), tongue splicing and scar patterns (scarification) as an extreme form of cultural body modification in a Western civilization"
- ^ National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) PubMed
- ^ Edelson, Stephen M. "Understanding and Treating Self-Injurious Behaviour"
- ^ See Benecke above.
- ^ NCBI PubMed
- ^ Adams, Cecil "Is there really such a thing as ... placenta stew?" The Straight Dope
- ^ Adams, Cecil "Did Dracula really exist?" The Straight Dope'
- ^ Miguel A. De La Torre, "Beyond Machismo: A Cuban Case Study" (citing Diana Iznaga, "Introduction" to Fernando Ortiz, Los negros curros (La Habana: Editorial de Ciencias Sociales, 1986) xviii-xix.)
- ^ Chin, Pat. "Behind the Rockwood case" Workers World, April 6, 1996
- ^ Lambeth Daily News 6 August 1998
- ^ Taber, Stephen Welton (2005) Invertebrates Of Central Texas Wetlands, page 200.