octors at Queen’s University in Toronto, Canada, thought they were going nuts when they saw what appeared to be the outline of a man’s face staring back at them in an ultrasound image of a tumour.
Dr Naji Touma and Dr Gregory Roberts were scrolling through images of a testicular tumour on a computer when they did a double take.
"It was very ghoulish, like a man screaming in pain. His mouth was open and it looked like one eye was gouged out," said Touma, a professor at Queen’s University Medical School and urologist at Kingston General Hospital.
The ultrasound image, taken in December 2009, was sent to the journal Urologyand recently published under the tongue-in-cheek headline: "The face of testicular pain: A surprising ultrasound finding."
Doctors were surprised to find this eerie image staring back at them out of the screen
"A brief debate ensued on whether the image could have been a sign from the deity (perhaps "Min" the Egyptian god of male virility); however, the consensus deemed it a mere coincidental occurrence rather than a divine proclamation," the accompanying article said.
The ultrasound was taken after a 45-year-old man complained of discomfort.
A 6 cm. growth turned out to be a benign tumour, the result of an infection, and the testicle was removed.
Touma chuckled over the finding, saying he’s never seen anything like it.
"It’s not unlike pieces of toast or grilled cheese sandwiches with the images of the Virgin Mary that occasionally go up for auction on eBay," he said.
