{{Short description|Malformation in veterinary medicine}} thumb|upright=1.3|A bovine amorphus globosus An '''amorphous''' (or '''amorphus''') '''globosus''' (from Greek αμορφή (''amorphē'', 'formless') and Latin ''globus'' ('sphere')), also known as a '''globosus amorphus''',<ref name="globosus-monster">{{cite journal |last1=Kamimura |first1=S. |last2=Enomoto |first2=S. |last3=Goto |first3=K. |last4=Hamana |first4=K. |title=A Globosus amorphus from an in vitro fertilized embryo transferred to a Japanese black cow |url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/0093691X9390220Y |journal=Theriogenology |access-date=21 September 2023 |pages=853–858 |doi=10.1016/0093-691X(93)90220-Y |date=1 October 1993|volume=40 |issue=4 |pmid=16727366 |url-access=subscription }}</ref> or an '''amorphous globosus monster''',<ref name="globosus-monster" /> <!-- see also https://www.scopus.com/record/display.uri?eid=2-s2.0-85034831665&origin=inward&txGid=427963468b7ed6382ab8a93c9ba13c26 --> is a fetus malformation in veterinary medicine, particularly in domestic cattle, resulting in the formation of an approximately spherical structure covered with hairy skin. An amorphous globosus contains parts of all three germ layers; the differentiation of its contents can vary greatly. An amorphus globosus is not viable due to the lack of functional organs.<ref name="Anwar" />
== Origin == The teratological reasons for the development of amorphus globosus are not fully understood, but it is believed that the malformation is generally associated with twin gestation,<ref>{{cite book |page=503 |last1=Hopper |first1=Richard M. |title=Bovine Reproduction |date=30 April 2021 |publisher=John Wiley & Sons |isbn=978-1-119-60245-3 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=e1gsEAAAQBAJ&dq=amorphus+globosus+twins&pg=PA503 |access-date=21 September 2023 |language=en}}</ref> in which one embryo does not develop normally. In two cases, the karyotype of the amorphus was identical to its normally developing twin,<ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Hishinuma | first1 = M. | last2 = Takahashi | first2 = Y. | last3 = Kanagawa | first3 = H. | year = 1987 | title = Histological and cytological observation on a bovine acardius amorphus | url = | journal = Jpn J Vet Sci | volume = 49 | issue = 1| pages = 195–197 | doi = 10.1292/jvms1939.49.195 | pmid = 3573485 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Kamimura | first1 = S. | last2 = Enomoto | first2 = S. | last3 = Goto | first3 = K. | last4 = Hamana | first4 = K. | year = 1993| title = A Globosus amorphus from an in vitro fertilized embryo transferred to a Japanese black cow | url = | journal = Theriogenology | volume = 40| issue = 4| pages = 853–8| pmid = 16727366 | doi = 10.1016/0093-691x(93)90220-y }}</ref> while in another case, the karyotype deviated from the normal twin,<ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Hishinuma | first1 = M. | last2 = Hoshi | first2 = N. | last3 = Takahashi | first3 = Y. | last4 = Kanagawa | first4 = H. | year = 1988| title = Vasculature and chromosomal composition in a bovine acardius amorphus | url = | journal = Nihon Juigaku Zasshi. The Japanese Journal of Veterinary Science | volume = 50| issue = 5| pages = 1139–41| pmid = 3199627 | doi = 10.1292/jvms1939.50.1139 }}</ref> so an emergence from fraternal twins also seems possible.
== Distribution == Amorphus globosus is more common in livestock than generally assumed.<ref name="Anwar">{{cite journal | last1 = Anwar | first1 = M. T. | last2 = Khan | first2 = A. I. | last3 = Balasubramanian | first3 = S. | last4 = Jayaprakash | first4 = R. | last5 = Kannan | first5 = T. A. | last6 = Manokaran | first6 = S. | last7 = Asokan | first7 = S. A. | last8 = Veerapandian | first8 = C. | year = 2009| title = A rare case of globosus amorphus in a goat | journal = The Canadian Veterinary Journal | volume = 50| issue = 8| pages = 854–6| pmid = 19881925 | pmc = 2711472 }}</ref> It occurs most commonly in cattle, but there are also case reports in goats<ref name="Anwar" /> and horses.<ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Crossman | first1 = P. J. | last2 = Dickens | first2 = P. S. | year = 1974| title = Amorphus globosus in the mare | url = | journal = The Veterinary Record | volume = 95| issue = 1| page = 22| pmid = 4432366 | doi = 10.1136/vr.95.1.22-b }}</ref> A case of amorphous globosus has also been described in human medicine, where it was also a twin pregnancy.<ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Maggiora-Vergano | first1 = T. | last2 = Gentile | first2 = G. | year = 1954| title = [A case of amorphous twin: holocardius amorphous globosus] | url = | journal = La Clinica Ostetrica e Ginecologica | volume = 56| issue = 4| pages = 235–44| pmid = 13231331 }}</ref>
== See also == * {{annotated link|Birth defect}} * {{annotated link|Schmallenberg orthobunyavirus}} * {{annotated link|Spherical cow}} * {{annotated link|Twin reversed arterial perfusion}}
== References == {{Reflist}}
== External links ==
* [https://secure.vet.cornell.edu/nst/nst.asp?Fun=Display&imgID=25841 Image of an amorphus globosus in cattle] on website of Cornell University
Category:Animal developmental biology Category:Livestock Category:Cattle Category:Veterinary medicine