The boy with the 6 inch TAIL: Rare birth defect mean baby is dubbed 'little monkey' by his family

Yang Yang, 11 months old, of Yibin, in south-west China's Sichuan Province, was born with the 15cm fleshy growth due to a neural tube defect in which his spine didn't form properly in the womb. 



This meant the membranes that protect the spinal cord poked through one of the vertebrae in his back, creating a long 'tail'. At first, Yang Yang's mother said it wasn't a problem and she would simply lift it up to change his nappies. But doctors said it could lead to problems with his lower limbs in future, and so he had it removed last month. Lin Jiangkai, lead physician in Yang Yang's operation, said such birth defects can occur when a mother doesn't take enough folic acid - B vitamins - during pregnancy.