Self-cannibalism

Self-cannibalism is the practice of eating oneself, also called autocannibalism,[1] or autosarcophagy.[2] A similar term which is applied differently is autophagy, which specifically denotes the normal process of self-degradation by cells. While almost an exclusive term for this process, autophagy nonetheless has occasionally made its way into more common usage.[3]

Among humans

As a natural occurrence

A certain amount of self-cannibalism occurs unknowingly, as the body consumes dead cells from the tongue and cheeks.

As a disorder or symptom thereof

Fingernail-biting that develops into fingernail-eating is a form of pica. Other forms of pica include dermatophagia,[4] and compulsion of eating one's own hair, which can form a hairball in the stomach. Left untreated, this can cause death due to excessive hair buildup.[5]

Self-cannibalism can be a form of self harm and a symptom of mental illnesses such as personality disorders, psychosis, or drug addiction.[6]

As a choice

Some people will engage in self-cannibalism as an extreme form of body modification, for example ingesting their own blood or skin.[3] Others will drink their own blood, a practice called autovampirism,[7] but sucking blood from wounds is generally not considered cannibalism. Placentophagy may be a form of self-cannibalism.

As a crime

Forced self-cannibalism as a form of torture or war crime has been reported. Erzsébet Báthory allegedly forced some of her servants to eat their own flesh in the early 17th century.[8] Incidents were reported in the years following the 1991 Haitian coup d'état.[9] In the 1990s, young people in Sudan were forced to eat their own ears.[10]

Among animals

The short-tailed cricket is known to eat its own wings.[11] There is evidence of certain animals digesting their own nervous tissue when they transition to a new phase of life. The sea squirt (with a tadpole-like shape) contains a ganglion "brain" in its head, which it digests after attaching itself to a rock and becoming stationary, forming an anemone-like organism. This has been used as evidence that the purpose of brain and nervous tissue is primarily to produce movement. Self-cannibalism behavior has been documented in North American rat snakes: one captive snake attempted to consume itself twice, dying in the second attempt. Another wild rat snake was found having swallowed about two-thirds of its body.[12]

References in myth and legend

The ancient symbol Ouroboros depicts a serpent biting its own tail.

Erysichthon from Greek mythology ate himself in insatiable hunger given him, as a punishment, by Demeter.

In an Arthurian tale, King Agrestes of Camelot goes mad after massacring the Christian disciples of Josephus within his city, and eats his own hands.

See also

Notes

  1. "Man-eaters: The Evidence for Coastal Tupi Cannibalism" mei(sh) dot org
  2. Mikellides AP (October 1950). "Two cases of self-cannibalism (autosarcophagy)". Cyprus Med J. 3 (12): 498–500. PMID 14849189.
  3. 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"
  4. Hayden, Danielle (5 November 2018). "What to Know About Dermatophagia, the 'Skin-Eating' Disorder That Causes Me to Gnaw at My Own Fingers".
  5. Sah DE, Koo J, Price VH (2008). "Trichotillomania" (PDF). Dermatol Ther. 21 (1): 13–21. doi:10.1111/j.1529-8019.2008.00165.x. PMID 18318881.
  6. Yilmaz, Atakan; Uyanik, Emrah; Şengül, Melike C. Balci; Yaylaci, Serpil; Karcioglu, Ozgur; Serinken, Mustafa (August 2014). "Self-Cannibalism: The Man Who Eats Himself". The Western Journal of Emergency Medicine. 15 (6): 701–2. doi:10.5811/westjem.2014.6.22705. PMC 4162732. PMID 25247046.
  7. NCBI PubMed
  8. Adams, Cecil "Did Dracula really exist?" The Straight Dope
  9. Chin, Pat. "Behind the Rockwood case" Workers World, April 6, 1996
  10. Lambeth Daily News 6 August 1998
  11. Taber, Stephen Welton (2005) Invertebrates Of Central Texas Wetlands, page 200.
  12. Mattison, Chris (2007). The New Encyclopedia of Snakes. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press. p. 105. ISBN 978-0-691-13295-2.
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