Lithopedion

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A lithopedion, or stone baby, is a rare occurrence that typically happens when a fetus perishes during an abdominal pregnancy, becomes too large for the body to reabsorb, and calcifies on its exterior as part of a foreign body response, protecting the mother's body from the dead tissue of the fetus and preventing infection. In 1720, Anna Müller, who was 91 years old at the time, insisted on her deathbed that she had been carrying a child for 46 years. She requested that her pastor and doctor remove it after her passing. The autopsy revealed a rock-hard structure. With a hatchet, one opened it and found a deceased fetus inside. The stone child was subsequently handed over to the ducal Kunstkammer in Stuttgart.