Symmelia (alias sirenomelia, mermaid malformation) is one of the most distinctive malformations which, not surprisingly, has attracted the attention of many artists, writers and other observers of the human condition. Works of art depicting symmelia date back at least two millennia. Some are anatomically based while others are more fanciful creations intended to stir the imagination. The figure of Atargatis as a mermaid on a first century BC coin is one of the earliest known images of symmelia. A nearly 2000-year-old Native American pottery figure representing an infant with symmelia is another.

中文翻译：

---

在艺术作品中寻找最早的 symmelia 图像

Symmelia（别名 sirenomelia，美人鱼畸形）是最独特的畸形之一，毫不奇怪，它引起了许多艺术家、作家和其他人类状况观察者的注意。描绘 symmelia 的艺术作品至少可以追溯到两千年前。有些是基于解剖学的，而另一些则是更奇特的创作，旨在激发想象力。Atargatis 作为公元前一世纪硬币上的美人鱼的形象是已知最早的 symmelia 图像之一。另一个具有近 2000 年历史的美洲原住民陶器形象代表了一个患有 symmelia 的婴儿。