The Rapunzel syndrome is an extremely rare intestinal condition in humans resulting from eating hair (trichophagia

Trichophagia

Trichophagia is the compulsive eating of hair associated with trichotillomania . In trichophagia, people with trichotillomania also ingest the hair that they pull; in extreme cases this can lead to a hair ball ....

). The syndrome is named after the long-haired girl Rapunzel

Rapunzel

"Rapunzel" is a German fairy tale in the collection assembled by the Brothers Grimm, and first published in 1812 as part of Children's and Household Tales. The Grimm Brothers' story is an adaptation of the fairy tale Persinette by Charlotte-Rose de Caumont de La Force originally published in 1698...

 in the fairy tale by the Brothers Grimm

Brothers Grimm

The Brothers Grimm , Jacob Grimm and Wilhelm Grimm , were German academics, linguists, cultural researchers, and authors who collected folklore and published several collections of it as Grimm's Fairy Tales, which became very popular...

. Trichophagia is sometimes associated with the hair pulling disorder trichotillomania

Trichotillomania

Trichotillomania, which is classified as an impulse control disorder by DSM-IV, is the compulsive urge to pull out one's own hair leading to noticeable hair loss, distress, and social or functional impairment. It is often chronic and difficult to treat....

.)

Signs and symptoms

Characteristics of the syndrome include:

• The body of a trichobezoar
  Trichobezoar
  A trichobezoar is a bezoar formed from the ingestion of hair. Trichobezoars are often associated with trichotillomania , are rare, and can be fatal if undetected. Surgical intervention is often required....
  
   (hairball) located in the stomach, and its tail in the small bowel and/or in the right colon
  Colon (anatomy)
  The colon is the last part of the digestive system in most vertebrates; it extracts water and salt from solid wastes before they are eliminated from the body, and is the site in which flora-aided fermentation of unabsorbed material occurs. Unlike the small intestine, the colon does not play a...
  
  
• Small or large bowel obstruction
• Occurring in psychiatric patients
• Trichotillomania
  Trichotillomania
  Trichotillomania, which is classified as an impulse control disorder by DSM-IV, is the compulsive urge to pull out one's own hair leading to noticeable hair loss, distress, and social or functional impairment. It is often chronic and difficult to treat....
  
  

Treatment

Because the human gastrointestinal tract

Gastrointestinal tract

The human gastrointestinal tract refers to the stomach and intestine, and sometimes to all the structures from the mouth to the anus. ....

is unable to digest human hairs, the trichobezoar may have to be treated surgically.