It's a photo from (IIRC) the 20's, of a tribe that has congenital (literally) elephantitis of the testes.
Hey Kicks -
Could anything be done for these guys today with modern surgery? What do you suppose they could do? ...I mean, short of castration. Could they somehow be made 'normal', or would that be impossible?
Do you suppose the condition is fully evident from infancy in guys with this problem? Do you think people have such 'ailments' in our day and age?
(Wonder what they call it when an elephant has this problem? )
PS - isn't the word actually "elephantiasis", or am I thinking of something else?
Could anything be done for these guys today with modern surgery? What do you suppose they could do? ...I mean, short of castration. Could they somehow be made 'normal', or would that be impossible?
Do you suppose the condition is fully evident from infancy in guys with this problem? Do you think people have such 'ailments' in our day and age?
(Wonder what they call it when an elephant has this problem? )
PS - isn't the word actually "elephantiasis", or am I thinking of something else?
The problem is caused by a parasite. I'm not quite sure how it is spread from generation to generation, but it is indeed curable these days.
Elephantitis in general (dammit, why isn't that in the spell checker!?!? AAAAAAAA!) is not a parasite, but just plain nasty skin gone insane. This may have been a parasite, but not as I recall from the article with the photo.
So yeah, I guess they could undergo a massive alpha-hydroxy peel and pare those puppies down... I've heard of chemical depilation gone horribly wrong, but JEEZ...
Elephantitis in general (dammit, why isn't that in the spell checker!?!? AAAAAAAA!) is not a parasite, but just plain nasty skin gone insane. This may have been a parasite, but not as I recall from the article with the photo.
So yeah, I guess they could undergo a massive alpha-hydroxy peel and pare those puppies down... I've heard of chemical depilation gone horribly wrong, but JEEZ...
Okay, I'm wrong on both counts... it *is* elephantiasis (Carol, your mastery of all things disgusting and horrible is truly awe-inspiring... murbot wants your babies), and it *is* generally caused by an infestation of a parasite.
GEEZ. Boxer shorts are MUCH better than normal tights. They are not designer fads or overpriced. I've been using boxers since I was 14 and have never noticed any price difference compared to normal tights. Boxers are way more comfortable than tights as well. Who in their right mind would want their precious bits to be squeezed together allday?? I like to give 'em the freedom to dangle around and breathe. Boxers also look much better. Personally, I cannot understand men who don't use boxers.
bah. for the ultimate is under garmenting: commando. free and breezy. "where ever you may be, let your balls roam free." when i'm feeling scavy, i throw on some boxers. haven't tried briefs since i was a wee little boy, and i never tried that half breed boxer-briefs. briefs were always just too tight. and boxers, well, they are pretty much there for show (well, the anti-show i suppose, around the house). the damned optional button bugs me sometimes. half the boxer time, i don't expect it to be there, thence delaying my pee. the other half i dont notice until i'm poking around inappropriately.
Okay, I'm wrong on both counts... it *is* elephantiasis (Carol, your mastery of all things disgusting and horrible is truly awe-inspiring... murbot wants your babies), and it *is* generally caused by an infestation of a parasite.
I stand before you a humbled man.
Hey Kicks -
Well "-itis" means "inflammation of...", whereas "-iasis" probably means "condition of..." - though I'm just guessing on the second one.
I like Greek and Latin word roots, prefixes and suffixes. When I was 15, my Biology teacher constantly made us look up biology vocabulary words and their derivations for every chapter. Though I hated doing it at the time, I did learn a fair amount of Greek that way. heh.
Btw, I wrote a paper for that class about the strange reproductive processes of some creatures - like sea worms that do a dance, swirling around each other until they explode in a frenzy, causing their eggs and sperm to mingle. (I think I remember that correctly...) It was a pretty interesting paper. heh.
My mastery of all things horrible and disgusting??? I'm trying to remember what other disgusting things I may have mentioned. Was it the river parasite that swims into the penis? Or the police officer in the mobile home? Or the body parts on the ceiling fans?
The thing is, some things are so appalling that they become indelibly imprinted on the mind, never to be forgotten. Also, I love to gross out my students, so I usually remember stuff that gets mentioned in class. I have some really hideous cobra-bite slides that I like to show them at the end of the year...slime dripping from huge black pustules on arms and legs. They beg to be shown these slides. heh. They're great! (the kids, I mean)
Don't be humbled, Kicks. Why should 'you' know details about elephantiasis? Why would 'anyone' know such details, aside from a specialist in tropical diseases?
And I think murbot has enough babies of his own without wanting some from me. It's hard to think of him as a "dad", isnt' it? - an authority figure??? Murbot??? I think he's probably a sweetie-pie.
They also can decrease sperm count, for those that are worried about unwanted pregnancies. Keeps the testes closer to the body and therefore warmer - which means they can't drop to cool off and some of the little wigglers expire from the heat.
Carol: yeah, murbie's a big ol' teddy bear. As for being humbled, *I'm* usually the harbinger of all things stomach-churning, and this time I dropped the elephantiasised ball(s). D'oh.
(For some reason I just got an image in my head of thousands of dead sperm with little X's for eyes, floating bellyup in a river...)
that reminds me of an obscene joke: two sperm are swimming happily along in an attempt to fertilize an egg. their sojourn seems endless and one sperm says to the other, "jesus christ. how long until we get to the eggs?" the other replies, "i think we still got a while --we're only in the stomach."
Comments
oh jesus....
Originally posted by curiousuburb
there's a reason I decided not to link it inline... not suitable for work.
but the image appears to be intended as documentary record more than exploitation.
either that or these dudes got some major tease gf to deal with
It's a photo from (IIRC) the 20's, of a tribe that has congenital (literally) elephantitis of the testes.
Originally posted by Kickaha
It's a photo from (IIRC) the 20's, of a tribe that has congenital (literally) elephantitis of the testes.
Hey Kicks -
Could anything be done for these guys today with modern surgery? What do you suppose they could do? ...I mean, short of castration. Could they somehow be made 'normal', or would that be impossible?
Do you suppose the condition is fully evident from infancy in guys with this problem? Do you think people have such 'ailments' in our day and age?
(Wonder what they call it when an elephant has this problem?
PS - isn't the word actually "elephantiasis", or am I thinking of something else?
Originally posted by Carol A
Hey Kicks -
Could anything be done for these guys today with modern surgery? What do you suppose they could do? ...I mean, short of castration. Could they somehow be made 'normal', or would that be impossible?
Do you suppose the condition is fully evident from infancy in guys with this problem? Do you think people have such 'ailments' in our day and age?
(Wonder what they call it when an elephant has this problem?
PS - isn't the word actually "elephantiasis", or am I thinking of something else?
The problem is caused by a parasite. I'm not quite sure how it is spread from generation to generation, but it is indeed curable these days.
So yeah, I guess they could undergo a massive alpha-hydroxy peel and pare those puppies down...
Originally posted by Kickaha
Elephantitis in general (dammit, why isn't that in the spell checker!?!? AAAAAAAA!) is not a parasite, but just plain nasty skin gone insane. This may have been a parasite, but not as I recall from the article with the photo.
So yeah, I guess they could undergo a massive alpha-hydroxy peel and pare those puppies down...
Okay, I'm wrong on both counts... it *is* elephantiasis (Carol, your mastery of all things disgusting and horrible is truly awe-inspiring... murbot wants your babies), and it *is* generally caused by an infestation of a parasite.
I stand before you a humbled man.
.h
Originally posted by Kickaha
Okay, I'm wrong on both counts... it *is* elephantiasis (Carol, your mastery of all things disgusting and horrible is truly awe-inspiring... murbot wants your babies), and it *is* generally caused by an infestation of a parasite.
I stand before you a humbled man.
Hey Kicks -
Well "-itis" means "inflammation of...", whereas "-iasis" probably means "condition of..." - though I'm just guessing on the second one.
I like Greek and Latin word roots, prefixes and suffixes. When I was 15, my Biology teacher constantly made us look up biology vocabulary words and their derivations for every chapter. Though I hated doing it at the time, I did learn a fair amount of Greek that way.
Btw, I wrote a paper for that class about the strange reproductive processes of some creatures - like sea worms that do a dance, swirling around each other until they explode in a frenzy, causing their eggs and sperm to mingle. (I think I remember that correctly...) It was a pretty interesting paper. heh.
My mastery of all things horrible and disgusting???
The thing is, some things are so appalling that they become indelibly imprinted on the mind, never to be forgotten. Also, I love to gross out my students, so I usually remember stuff that gets mentioned in class. I have some really hideous cobra-bite slides that I like to show them at the end of the year...slime dripping from huge black pustules on arms and legs. They beg to be shown these slides. heh. They're great! (the kids, I mean)
Don't be humbled, Kicks. Why should 'you' know details about elephantiasis? Why would 'anyone' know such details, aside from a specialist in tropical diseases?
And I think murbot has enough babies of his own without wanting some from me. It's hard to think of him as a "dad", isnt' it?
Carol: yeah, murbie's a big ol' teddy bear.
I'm talking just regular boxer briefs... not bikini speedos.
(For some reason I just got an image in my head of thousands of dead sperm with little X's for eyes, floating bellyup in a river...)
Originally posted by Kickaha
(For some reason I just got an image in my head of thousands of dead sperm with little X's for eyes, floating bellyup in a river...)
that reminds me of an obscene joke: two sperm are swimming happily along in an attempt to fertilize an egg. their sojourn seems endless and one sperm says to the other, "jesus christ. how long until we get to the eggs?" the other replies, "i think we still got a while --we're only in the stomach."