Doctor posts THIS photo to highlight rare condition – but can you see what’s up?
Around 1 on 500 people are born with the condition and it is more prominent in African countries
CAN you see what is different about this man's hands?
You'd be forgiven for looking straight at the black spot on the back of his right hand, but take a closer look at his fingers.
Spotted it yet?
The man has five fingers and one thumb on each hand.
Yet the extra fingers are so well formed you can barely notice.
The photo was shared on Figure 1, an app and website where healthcare staff around the world can share images of the ailments they treat, and has attracted a lot of attention from users.
The person who shared the photo explained that the man's fingers were functioning normally and that he also had an extra toe on each foot.
While his condition may not be something you have heard of before, it is more common that you probably realise.
It occurs in around one in 500 people and is quite prominent in African communities, a top genetics doctor told The Sun Online.
It is called polydactyly, which literally translates to 'many fingers'.
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Unlike fleshy lumps and tags that can develop to look like extra fingers - something docs call a nubbin for short - a polydactyly digit often has bones and nerves and can be genetic.
A nubbin can often be removed at birth by tying a ligature around it until it falls off.
But someone with polydactyly does not always have that option, explained Dr Anand Saggar, a senior genetic consultant at St George’s Hospital, London, and the International Gene Clinic in Harley Street.
Dr Saggar said the man in the photo has bilateral postaxial polydactyly, meaning he has extra little fingers on each hand.
If he had extra thumbs it would be called preaxial polydactyly.
He said: "It just means extra digits and it can be bilateral [on both sides of hands or feet] or unilateral [on one side].
"When it is unilateral it is usually a sporadic occurrence and may not be genetic.
"But when it affects both hands, or especially if it affects the hands and the feet, then it is without doubt genetic."
While extra fingers may not cause a health problem in themselves they could be a sign of an underlying genetic condition such as Greigs sydrome which affects the development of the limbs head and face.
Dr Saggar recommends that anyone with an extra digit undergoes a genetic test to ensure their health is not going to suffer.
He said: "If you [a doctor] see someone that has an extra digit you always have to ask 'is it part of something bigger like a genetic condition or syndrome?'
"But it can be normal in the sense that you've just got an extra digit and it won't cause you any problems.
"It is quite common in Africa, specifically West Africa, there is definitely a gene that goes around that causes an extra finger to occur and that is all it does, it doesn't cause any other problems.
"Although it is a flagging sign to ask yourself if you need to check if there is anything else associated with this."
WHAT IS POLYDACTYLY?
Polydactyly is the occurrence of extra digits on the hands or feet.
Based on the location of the extra digits polydactyly can be classified into preaxial, involving the thumb or big toe or postaxial, affecting the little finger.
In some cases it is just a random occurrence but in others it is genetic, meaning it is passed down through family.
If someone is born with an extra finger there is a 50 per cent chance their children with be born with an extra finger.
Sometimes the extra finger is well formed, but in others it has a narrow base or stalk and is floppy.
The place where the extra finger joins the hand might be bony or it could just be a soft stalk.
So what if you have one and it isn't a sign of an underlying illness? Does it need to be removed?
The simple answer is no, unless it is causing you pain and discomfort.
But many people often opt to have them removed for cosmetic reasons.
Dr Saggar said: "The important thing in all of this is to ask yourself if you need to have it altered or changed.
"Its function is more important than its form. And most people don't notice it.
"I would say don't remove it [if it is fully functional] because you'll have to have a surgery and you'll have a scar."
Actress Gemma Arterton, 31, was born with an extra finger but had it removed when she was a baby.
She described it as "my little oddity that I am really proud of", and that people are "interested but repulsed at the same time".
Gemma's condition was more like a nubbin though, not the fully formed fingers seen in the picture above.
Her fingers did not have any bones and were tied off with sutures.
But she explains that the condition runs in her family and that both her dad and her grandad had them.
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