Autosarcophagy: A New Medical Trend?
In the past few years, there have been several reports of people eating their own flesh. These are called “autoscaphogens.” They usually happen when someone dies, but they don’t always die from natural causes. Some people eat their dead relatives or friends because it’s considered a form of “sacrifice” for them. Others do it out of morbid curiosity or just to satisfy sadistic urges.
The first reported case was in 2012, when a man named John Blaine ate his family after he died. Since then, other cases have been found all over the world. There have even been reports of cannibalism among humans who had no previous history of eating human flesh before.
These cases are not new; however, they’ve become more common since the internet became popular in recent years. People with access to the internet now have easy access to research any topic imaginable.
What Are Autosarcophagous Animals?
Autosarcophagy is defined as the consumption of one’s own body parts. It’s generally thought that these individuals are suffering from some sort of mental illness such as schizophrenia or bipolar disorder. Most of these cases involve eating organs like hearts, livers, lungs, brains and intestines. Other bodies may be eaten too (e.g. lips, fingers, nose, genitals). The act is usually performed as a result of an obsession with the human body or cannibalism.
As it stands, there are no official reports of humans eating flesh (including muscle, skin or bones) from their own bodies. However, some theories suggest that mental illness causes humans to eat flesh from their own bodies without realizing it. For example, people who pick at their skin may be doing more damage than they realize. It can leave ugly wounds that lead to infection.
What Autocannibalism Is And What It’s Not
Autocannibalism is defined as the consumption of one’s own flesh. This usually includes muscle, skin and bones. Most people who practice this enjoy the flavor or feel some sort of sexual thrill from the act. Like most things in life, there are different ways to practice autocannibalism. The most common forms include:
Solo AutoCannibalism (Solo): Eating your own arm, leg or any other body part.
Bilateral AutoCannibalism (Bilat): Eating one limb and having another person eat another limb.
Ring AutoCannibalism (Ring): A group of people partake in Bilat AutoCannibalism.
Full AutoCannibalism (Full): Consuming entire body parts.
These are just some of the terms used to describe different kinds of autocannibalism. There are more including special cases such as mercy cannibalism and spiritual cannibalism.
Is Autocannibalism Illegal?
In most modern countries, the act of autocannibalism is not illegal. However, in some countries it may be considered animal cruelty if people are murdering animals for their meat. Most countries with stricter laws do not usually enforce them for this particular act.
If you’re in the United States, you’re safe as long as you’re consuming your own flesh. In the past, there have been attempts to ban autocannibalism for moral reasons. However, these attempts have always failed. Lobbists have stated that it isn’t the government’s place to dictate what people can or can’t do with their own bodies.
Even if autocannibalism was made illegal, it would be very difficult to enforce. Most people engage in the act in private so there would be no witnesses. It would be the person’s word against the law. If autocannibalism was ever made illegal, it’s likely that people would continue to do it. It’s not like people don’t break the law as is.
What Are The Benefits Of Autocannibalism?
Most people engage in the act of autocannibalism for sexual reasons (sexual release). They enjoy the thrill or the excitement it provides. For others, it’s a source of nutrition. For some, it’s a combination of both.
For most people, autocannibalism isn’t just a thrill but a necessity. They simply cannot afford food or money is too tight. In that case, they’re able to sustain themselves without having to beg, steal or get a menial job that they’re incapable of doing.
Is It Safe?
It’s no secret that we all have microorganisms inside of us. Without these organisms we would cease to exist.
Sources & references used in this article:
Septic autocannibalism. A failure of exogenous nutritional support. by FB Cerra, JH Siegel, B Coleman, JR Border… – Annals of …, 1980 – ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
“Autocannibalism” of choline-containing membrane phospholipids in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer’s disease—a hypothesis by RJ Wurtman, JK Blusztajn, JC Maire – Neurochemistry international, 1985 – Elsevier
Avoiding autocannibalism. by RJ Ross, JP Miell, CR Buchanan – BMJ: British Medical Journal, 1991 – ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
Auto cannibalism in mental retardation by R Verma, S Mina, A Sachdeva – Journal of pediatric neurosciences, 2014 – ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
