Fir Tree Found Growing Inside Man's Lung

[rcrush]

Source: Sky News

Reports say Artyom Sidorkin, 28, from the Urals region of Russia, is believed to have inhaled a seed which then sprouted inside him.

Doctors were convinced he had cancer after he came to them complaining of agonising chest pains and coughing up blood.

An X-ray showed what was believed to be a tumour, and he was rushed to the operating theatre.

Surgeon Vladimir Kamashev from Izhevsk in the Urals was quoted as saying "We were 100% sure."

"We did X-rays and found what looked exactly like a tumour. I had seen hundreds before, so we decided on surgery."

Before removing the major part of the man's lung, the surgeon investigated the tissue taken in a biopsy.

"I thought I was hallucinating," said Dr Kamashev.

"I asked my assistant to have a look: 'Come and see this - we've got a fir tree here'."

"He nodded in shock. I blinked three times as I was sure I was seeing things."

The 2in (5cm) spruce, which was said to be touching the man's capillaries and causing severe pain, was removed.

Read more: http://news.sky.com/skynews/Home/World-News/Tree-Found-In-Lung-Seed-Sprouted-Inside-Russian-Mans-Chest/Article/200904315262048?lpos=World_News_Carousel_Region_4&lid=ARTICLE_15262048_Tree_Found_In_Lung%3A_Seed_Sprouted_Inside_Russian_Mans_Chest_

[Taverner]

1. Wouldn't it need light?

[havocmom]

2. not to germinate and just get going

Most seeds germinate in dark ground or under a lot of other plant debris.

After a bit, yeah, light would be required.

[Gormy Cuss]

3. Not for germination, apparently.

The seed probably was trying to find a way to poke through its growing medium to find some light.

[MUAD_DIB]

35. Maybe the guy was smoking Marlboro Lites.

[Taverner]

47. grrrroan...

[Bosso 63]

48. or poles.

[ginnyinWI]

43. it's possible that it could get some light through his skin, right?

When you look at your hand in the sun, you can see that some light passes through. So to me it's possible, if the guy was outdoors and bare chested. :shrug:

[Taverner]

46. Maybe if he goes to a tanning salon...

:P

[caseymoz]

55. Not to germinate. It would seek light, then probably die if it didn't find it

Or go dormant. All it needs to germinate is nutrient-rich, moist soil. Or apparently a lung.

[derby378]

4. Read a similar case back in the 70s

Only the seed entered someone's eye. Said he felt something hit his eye, but shrugged it off after the pain subsided. Then, slowly, his vision became more blurry in that eye, and he felt some pain from swelling and pressure. Sure enough, a seed had embedded in his eye and started growing. Doctors removed it, and I think the guy's able to see just fine now.

[Sabriel]

5. I pine for the days when we read real news.

But they can't hold a candle to this story, which resinates with me.

[JuniperLea]

8. Good one:)

Most stories just lumber along... this one really sprouted:)

[KamaAina]

44. I thought the writing was kind of wooden

:P

[Arugula Latte]

54. To me it reads like pulp fiction.

[Gormy Cuss]

12. Just fir you..

:spank:

[PuraVidaDreamin]

20. Stop your needling !

what a sap!

[Divine Discontent]

25. you all are branching into sarcasm a bit too much with your poking fun at the root of this man's

life & death situation!

Seriously, he's so fortunate to be alive and I've ALWAYS thought you could have stuff like that grow in you, and this proves it. It's gotta get in the lungs.

[Grinchie]

41. I find it interesting that the other Scientists would refute this

I guess people wouldn't really like to know how pollen works then...

The human body is a rich medium for all sorts of oragnisms, from single celled bacteria to multicellular organisms such as parasites. In the deep south, there used to be a widespread problem of Hookworm, roundworms, tapeworms and other parasites. The Liver fluke is also still very common, but when was the last time your daoctor ever thought about checking for parasites?

Probably never, because the medical system has decided to ignore this problem. They will just treat the symptoms while ignoring the root cause.

Tree's can send roots through solid rock. No wonder this guy was in agony.

[JuniperLea]

45. Chiggers!

I remember getting them while vacationing in the South and Midwest when I was a kid! Ringworm from the barn cats too!

After reading this story, I'm wondering how often this "germination" situation actually happens!

[caseymoz]

56. But it might have been killed or damaged by the immune system, usually.

I would think. This thing would have been much quicker than cancer, and he's lucky it didn't penetrate an artery.

Parasites are generally very well adapted to what they do. It's a rare case when a non-parasite invades a host. This could be an example of the first step in how a species turns parasitic. Very fascinating. I'm surprised it doesn't happen more.

I think you hear about cases of certain parasitic infections rising now. Medical diagnoses, unfortunately, is still mostly an art. I guess you could flow chart it. It would be a very big flow chart, though. Maybe they already have it. It can't be complete, though.

[Lars39]

57. I wish I could find the Tennessean article I read as a teen....

a girl had knelt down to drink out of a stream and swallowed a small snake. The snake grew in her for years. :scared:

[JVS]

26. Some posts just make me lose faith in the first amendment!

;-)

[angstlessk]

6. I certainly hope they gave him the seedling so he could plant it in his yard!

truly amazing...the old 'truth is stranger than fiction' kinda thing!

[tridim]

7. I guess it's a good thing he didn't inhale a watermelon seed.

I'm kind of surprised this doesn't happen more often. Maybe it does and we just don't know about it?

[uppityperson]

9. That looks like the end of a branch, not a seedling. Esp not one grown without light

seedling would be longer and paler, but spruce do have needles on their branches like that. If it were growing in an enclosed space, I could understand them being tightly folded like that. But it seems odd the chlorophyll would have it green without any sunlight.

[FedUpWithIt All]

32. I agree. A sprout would be able to grow with no light but it would not look like the image.

That does not look like a sprout. It looks like s cutting from a developed branch.

[caseymoz]

58. Maybe it was changed by its environment. Or maybe this is a fraud.

Could be either one. Is from the Russian tabloid press?

[LeftishBrit]

65. I suppose it could be a fraud. Someone might have planted the evidence.

[UpInArms]

10. that is way too bizarre - here's the pic of the tree

[uppityperson]

34. Seems there would be rootlets, not a broken off end

looks like the end of a twig. If it were a sprout, it would have roots at the end, not a broken off large stump.

I wonder how he inhaled the end of a branch.

[Grinchie]

42. Nice fake

But no cigar.

[caseymoz]

59. You know, looking at that, I agree.

At the beginning I didn't know the story came with a picture. It looks like that piece of meat is actually been wrapped over a branch. They could have at least used a sprout to make it halfway convincing, but this was a rush job. A way to make quick money in a falling economy.

[TorchTheWitch]

11. I will never swallow another watermelon seed again

Or inhale one.

[yellowcanine]

24. Just make sure all seeds are thoroughly chewed I guess.

[elehhhhna]

52. no beans up the nose, either!

[mainegreen]

13. OMG! My wife has always called me crazy for saying this could happen!

I'm so going to show this to her!

:D

[JVS]

27. Well how often do you discuss this possibility?

She might still be right about the crazy part, you know.

[mainegreen]

31. I bring it up about once every three months or so.

Why?

Is it abnormal to fear plants taking over our bodies?

:D

[Theobald]

67. Unfortunatley this doesn't help to determine whether

you are crazy or not. The object pictured could not have grown in the mans lungs because it would need photosynthesis to turn green. It could sprout or germinate without sunlight, but in order to turn green it would need sunlight; and no contrary to someone posting earlier the sunlight couldn't penatrate to your lungs. That is a picture of a section of pine tree that the man inhaled or a complete fake.

[Lucky Luciano]

14. Well...the bright side is that it was not lung cancer I guess! nt

[customerserviceguy]

74. But as Jay Leno said last night

he's still not out of the woods!

[HopeHoops]

15. So, my grandmother was right!

If you swallow watermelon seeds, the plants will grow out of your ears!

[bluevoter4life]

16. Bravo to the doctors

For branching out and getting to the root of the problem.

[Javaman]

17. if a tree falls in a lung...nt

[balantz]

18. Hate it when that happens. Always coughing pine needles. So annoying!

And shittin' pine cones is the worst!

I wonder what Eull Gibbons would have said about that?

[JVS]

28. I wonder if it would act as a breath freshener with a pine scent

[Sabriel]

60. He would've said...

..."Many pahts of the pine cone shit are edible."

[balantz]

71. Ha ha, yes, that's what he'd say! n/t

[balantz]

19. Dupe

[No Elephants]

21. How did it get green without light? Doesn't pass the smell test.

[harun]

23. A seedling is going to be green even if it never gets hit by light.

[OneBlueSky]

22. I have a friend who once inhaled a marijuana seed . . .

and to this day he's high 24/7 . . . all he has to do is inhale a little Miracle-Gro once a month to keep it healthy, and drink some prune juice every so often to keep it, well, pruned . . .

what, you think I'm kidding? . . . may lightning strike me if . . .

[Odin2005]

29. That is bizzare!

How does a seed germinate inside someone? :shrug:

[greiner3]

30. Imagine all the neocons;

Who spew diarrhea while they espouse their hatred. I can imagine that some of this crap is re inhaled where it grows. This makes sense; the neocons are so full of shit!

[Uncle Joe]

33. When I was in the Marines, a friend of mine went home for several weeks leave,

he left his car window cracked and when he came back there was a small Marijuana Plant growing out of the back floor carpet of his Firebird.

He drove his green house on wheels around like that for several more weeks before finally removing the plant.

[balantz]

37. I used to have that happen a lot in the bed of my pickup and even my dash once in Oregon years ago.

[mikelgb]

36. greatest? I guess

[Duer 157099]

38. "Why beholdest thou the mote in thy neighbors eye..."

"and ignore the fir tree growing in your own lung"

It's in the Bible! (or am I misquoting again?)

[YDogg]

39. The ultimate in luxury ... fir-lined lungs.

:shrug:

[Grinchie]

40. Seeds do NOT need light to germinate, they need warmth and water.

Most of the time, we bury seeds under a layer of dirt, which removes light. In primary forests, of which we have very little left, there is almost no light at all. Plants sprout, and take hundreds of years to reach the canopy, which is why wood from the old days is so much straighter, knot free and finer grained.

Just take a close look at the GMO Pine we use in our houses these days, each ring is about .25 inches wide, milled from a true no more than 20 years old.

[Starbucks Anarchist]

49. A Tree Grows in Artyom.

[progressoid]

50. Was he related to Yule Gibbons ?

[BlancheSplanchnik]

51. I call bullshit

you can clearly see the cut-off end of the "sprout"

They don't say how long ago he supposedly inhaled the seed, but here're some pics:

One Year Old Fraser Fir Seedling


Two Year Old Fraser Fir Seedling


Two Year Old Douglas Fir Seedling--Douglas Fir seedling, Lincoln seed source, 2 years old, measures 8 to 14 inches from the soil line to the top of the plant.


Norway Spruce 4A container size with height averaging 18 inches. See pricing below.


No root system at all on the lung pic. Needles look hard and the trunk is thick and short and woody looking before the needles start. Not much resemblance between the lung specimen and any of these actual Fir Tree Sprouts.

do I need to switch my name to WetBlankie now? ;) heh heh heh

[ecstatic]

53. Maybe an alien surgically installed it in his lung?

While he was sleeping? This might be proof of alien experiments/abductions. :shrug:

[BlancheSplanchnik]

62. Those Wacky Aliens!

[doodadem]

61. Isn't this how Invasion of the Body Snatchers starts?

I'm just sayin'.........

[LeftHander]

63. Well if that isn't a potato in the ass....

I wonder if the Vicar is growing anything...?
lol

[ItNerd4life]

64. I wonder if Marijuana seeds would sprout?

Imagine, not having to smoke again. Just breathe normally and get high!

[and-justice-for-all]

66. How bizarre...nt

[AngryAmish]

68. "The Ruins"

[ima_sinnic]

69. this is a hoax. ever see potatoes sprout in a dark place? it's called etiolation

In a dark environment, sprouts seeking light will grow long and "leggy" and white. Without light, there can be no photosynthesis, hence no luxurious growth of needles as in the picture.

In addition, those needles are all old and woody. sheesh. they didn't even make the effort to find a genuine "sprout" rather than just the nearest end of an old branch.

[muriel_volestrangler]

72. No, fir tree seedlings can look like that

eg:

http://www.shatleyfarms.com.nyud.net:8080/images/hands-seedling.jpg 1 year seedling
http://www.shatleyfarms.com.nyud.net:8080/images/hand-transplants.jpg 2 year seedling
http://www.shatleyfarms.com/

Whether one that hadn't yet found light would look like that is another matter, as you say.

[KamaAina]

70. Okay. I'm board with this now.

:P

[CreekDog]

73. I thought it was Rouladen

:shrug: