A true human tail (persistent vestigial tail) is rare. It consists of a central core of mature fatty tissue, small blood vessels, bundles of muscle fibres, and nerve fibres. It may be as long as 13 cm and can move and contract. The true tail is the distal remnant of the embryologic tail, which is present between the fourth and seventh or eighth weeks of fetal development [1]. For most of us, our tailbone (coccyx) is the vestigial representation of the tail. The word coccyx is via Latin from the Greek word kokkux (cuckoo) because the shape of the human tailbone resembles the cuckoo’s bill.
1. Singh, D., Kumar, B., Sinha, V. and Bagaria, H. (2008). The human tail: rare lesion with occult spinal dysraphism—a case report. Journal of Pediatric Surgery, 43(9), pp.e41-e43.
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