Last week, 80 years after his death, Adolf Hitler made headlines for a surprising reason: DNA analysis determined that he may have had a micropenis.
The Nazi dictator was found to have a genetic disorder called Kallmann syndrome, which can delay or prevent puberty and result in underdeveloped sexual organs.
And the revelations about dead men’s anatomy keeps on coming: In an interview this week, Jeffrey Epstein accuser Rina Oh claimed that the convicted pedophile had an “extremely deformed” penis — which was “probably like two inches” fully erect.
Oh, who says she was groomed by Epstein, made the remarks in a recent Substack interview with Tina Brown. The 46-year-old said she didn’t believe he was able to have penetrative sex.
“Some people have described it as the shape of an egg. I think it was more of the shape of a lemon, and it was really small when it was fully erect,” she said. Though she didn’t call his appendage a micropenis, specifically, her estimate of its size would land it in that category.
How big is a micropenis?
An actual medical term, a micropenis is a penis that’s significantly smaller than average. Based on correct measurement, a micropenis or microphallus is classified by certain lengths at different ages:
- Newborns: less than 0.74 inches
- 5 years old: less than 1.5 inches
- Adults: less than 2.9 inches
While this condition doesn’t affect how the penis works, it is an extremely rare condition, affecting about 1.5 in 10,000 newborns in the U.S.
What causes a micropenis?
While it can occur on its own, a micropenis is often associated with several other health issues from hormonal disorders or conditions that are present at birth.
The main cause is fetal testosterone deficiency, when a male fetus doesn’t produce enough testosterone during development due to genetic disorders or issues with the testicles, hypothalamus or pituitary gland.
Fetal testosterone deficiency itself can be caused by a few different conditions:
- Prader-Willi syndrome, a rare genetic condition that affects metabolism
- Hypogonadotropic hypogonadism, when the hypothalamus and pituitary gland fail to produce enough hormones to stimulate the testes or ovaries
- Kallmann syndrome, rare genetic disorder that affects hormones
Sometimes, a micropenis can happen with no known cause.
What is Kallmann syndrome?
Hitler was recently revealed to have this genetic disorder in the documentary “Hitler’s DNA: Blueprint of a Dictator.”
This disorder affects the hormones connected to puberty and sexual development, as well as sense of smell.
While the fetus is developing, certain genes change that disrupt the puberty process and cause the hypothalamus to not make enough gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH).
Without enough GnRH, which supports sexual maturity, sex drive and fertility, puberty doesn’t start — which impacts the development of sex organs.
Besides a smaller penis, other symptoms of Kallmann syndrome can include infertility, fatigue, low sex drive, balance issues, mood changes and more.
How is a micropenis diagnosed?
It can be diagnosed as early as birth or infancy, typically by the presence of both a smaller-than-average penis and foreskin size.
A doctor will gently stretch the penis and measure from tip to base, then compare the measurement to the size range of a particular age group.
Is there treatment?
The two most common treatments include testosterone therapy and surgery.
Provided via injections or gel applied to the skin, testosterone treatment has been shown to increase the size of the penis in studies of children with this condition.
Many adults may choose to undergo surgery for a micropenis to make the penis either longer or wider.
There can be risks to this surgery, however, such as scarring, inflammation, having a bend in the penis, infection or erectile dysfunction.
While people of all ages can benefit from treatment, success is usually higher when started earlier.
