Carla Valentine

Carla Valentine Instagram – Pop quiz! Apologies for the poor quality of the photo I took, but I’ve not been at the museum much recently and had to use an old image. Does anyone know what this potted specimen is?
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It’s a “human horn!” (Yes, I thought of Futurama too…)
The medical name for this condition is a cutaneous horn, as cutaneous means “relating to or affecting the skin”, and in Latin it’s Cornu Cutaneum.
It may also be called a keratin horn because these unusual growths are made from keratin, which is the same substance that makes up hair & nails in humans, and the oesophagus of rats. They are often benign but can sometimes be malignant and their cause is still unknown. Because they more commonly appear on the face, ears and backs of hands, and in those with fair skin, it’s been suggested that there may be a connection with exposure to sunlight but there’s also a theory they are related to the wart causing virus HPV. They can be removed fairly easily for those with access to a decent medical system.
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As you can see from the 2nd slide, there are still people suffering from this affliction and it’s not an archaic condition. The woman in the picture is a 69 yo who watched this horn develop over a period of 20 years. At the time this pic was taken the horn was 17cm long and was removed under general anaesthetic.
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You can see from the final image that @muttermuseum in Philadelphia has an example of this in the form of a wax moulage. The woman depicted was called Madame Dimanche and she lived in 19th century France. Her horn was 25cm long!
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We had a sudden period of “summer” here in the UK over the last fortnight so, if these horns are linked to sun damage, this is your reminder to always wear SPF, and if you have any unusual growths or moles that have recently changed in appearance, go and get it checked out!
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#cutaneoushorn #medicine #medicalmuseum #pathology #muttermuseum #mutter #protectthemutter #histmed #pathologymuseum #wetspecimen #humanremains #skincancerawareness | Posted on 13/Sep/2023 16:20:10