The Hairy Family of Burma: A Four Generation Pedigree of Congenital Hypertrichosis Lanuginosa

Abstract

A Burmese family with congenital hypertrichosis lanuginosa had an eventful history in the nineteenth century. The earlier members of this family were employed at the court of Ava, but the later ones spent their lives in show business, being widely exhibited for money in the 1880s. Their extraordinary hairiness attracted much curiosity, and they were photographed several times. The hairy Burmese are the only example of a four-generation pedigree of congenital hypertrichosis lanuginosa, which is consistent with an autosomal dominant mode of inheritance. There is good evidence that, when the members of this family were hairy, their dentition was also deficient.