Others think the object they removed from the man’s abdomen was a cyst.
Doctors at the hospital examined the man and surgically removed what the Mehr news agency said was a formed fetus with a head, hair, teeth, fingernails, skin, and skull as well as a spinal column.
Other medical professionals outside the hospital, Mehr said, think the 22-year-old was suffering from a dermoid cyst — also called a mature teratoma. A dermoid cyst is a saclike growth, present at birth, which contains structures such as hair, fluid, teeth, or skin glands.
According to WebMD, the cysts are caused when skin and skin structures become trapped during fetal development, and usually occur on the face, inside the skull, on the lower back, and in the ovaries. Dermoid cysts can become inflamed and painful.
Scientists believe that the incidence of one twin absorbing the other in the womb is very rare.
Photos released by the hospital show an object that is only vaguely human in appearance, about a foot long and topped by hair.