There are long-running TV shows, and then there's Grey's Anatomy. The ABC medical drama is one of the longest-running TV shows of all time and during the run Grey's has had wild medical cases, including both rare conditions and wild injuries. And here are 32 of the weirdest injuries and diseases from the series so far. Let's break it all down.
The stars of Grey's Anatomy have been bringing both their character's personal lives to life, as well as their careers as surgeons. The latter is a big part of the show, even for fans who are squeamish during the surgery scenes. And there are a number of memorable cases from the show (often accompanied by iconic Grey's Anatomy music). In no particular order, here are the 32 weirdest injuries and diseases from the show's run on the air.
Man who swallowed doll heads.
During the early episodes of Grey's Season 2, much of the drama was surrounding Addison's arrival in Seattle and the revelation that McDreamy was actually married. But there are also some very memorable patients during this stage of the long-running series, including Mr. Hubbard aka the Judy doll man. He comes into Seattle Grace with a bowel obstruction, which is revealed to be a result of ingesting a ton of Judy doll heads. Talk about a weird one.
Train crash victims who were stuck together.
While Grey's has become somewhat synonymous with onscreen disasters, these big events were much more rare in the old days. Case in point: Season 2's train crash episodes, where the doctors are trying to figure out how to save Bonnie and Tom, who were stuck together after being impaled by the same metal pole. But the surgeons quickly realize they'll only be able to save one of them, with Bonnie dying and later appearing to Meredith in a vision during the ferry crash storyline.
The bomb in a man's chest.
Christina Ricci is just one of many actors you might not remember who appeared on Grey's Anatomy, but she's in a pair of fan-favorite episodes. She plays EMT Hannah Davies, who shows up at Seattle Grace with her hand in a patient's chest. But it's later revealed that the gunshot wound was an active bomb that hadn't exploded, with the hospital calling a Code Black and bringing in a bomb squad for two tense hours of television.
Demi Lovato's character can hear her own organs.
Pop star/actress Demi Lovato appeared in an episode of Grey's Anatomy back in Season 6, shortly before the plane crash (one of the many times Meredith almost dies) occurs. Her young character Hayley May originally appears to be suffering from a mental health crisis, but the truth is even stranger. Alex discovers a small hole in her inner ear, which allows to her hear her organs working, and makes her sensitive to sound.
The man with a tree growing in his body.
During Season 7 of Grey's Anatomy, we meet a patient named Raul Arand. Sandra Oh's Cristina Yang soon figures out that rather than having a suspected turmoil, he actually has a tree growing inside of his lung. It's a truly wild set of circumstances, one that Cristina is thrilled about.
The man whose twin was inside of him.
In the Season 10 episode "We Gotta Get Out of This Place" we meet a patient named Greg Penderglass. After complaining about abdominal pain, it's revealed that he's got a condition called fetus in fetu, and was carrying a twin that he absorbed while in the womb. As a junk collector, he originally wants to keep it, but his feelings change after surgery.
The man with a fish in his...
During Season 3 of Grey's, the attending surgeons are trying to win the Chief job, and are alerted about a VIP being admitted. That's none other than Board member Larry Jennings, who is revealed to have a fish stuck in a male part of the anatomy, which happened after he urinated while on vacation. Although the bigger twist was that he got it while skinny dipping with his assistant, not his wife.
The guy who used porn as pain relief.
Henry Lamott was a patient in Season 2 who was waiting for a spinal implant. He was in extreme pain and allergic to meds, with his doctor prescribed watching porn to help relieve his pain. It actually worked too... until there was a blackout in the hospital.
Mandy Moore's character died for seemingly no reason.
Before starring in This Is Us, Mandy Moore did a few very memorable episodes of Grey's Anatomy. She managed to survive the shooting episodes and returned to Grey Sloan Memorial after traveling to finally get her colostomy bag reversal. The surgery goes perfectly, but she never wakes up from anesthesia and eventually is taken off life support when suffering from massive organ failure. And the worst part: the autopsy never explains what happened to her either.
The prisoner who swallowed razor blades.
Constance Ferguson is a character who appears in Season 2 of Grey's Anatomy. She's a very unique patient, as she's actually a prisoner who swallowed razor blades in order to have a trip out of prison and into the hospital. She requires surgery to have them removed, and later needs a thoracotomy after swallowing the lightbulb from her room.
The lady who had spontaneous... pleasure
In Season 2 a patient named Pamela Calva comes into the hospital. She's shown to be suffering from spontaneous feelings of an adult nature, which are later revealed to be caused by a tumor on her pudendal artery. Luckily she gets surgery and is finally able to live without the embarrassment and exhaustion that came with her condition.
Abigail Breslin's character felt no pain.
A young Abigail Breslin appears in Season 3 of Grey's Anatomy as a patient named Megan Clover. She believes she is destined to be a superhero, due to her inability to feel pain. She's eventually diagnosed as having congenital insensitivity to pain with anhidrosis, and undergoes surgery to cure her of the "superpower."
The kid who was stuck in cement.
Season 4 brought some wild medical cases to Grey's Anatomy, including a patient who was admitted to Seattle Grace after being trapped inside a block of cement. Because of this, he suffered from a variety of injuries including burns, broken bones, crush injuries, and pulmonary embolus. Luckily he is removed and ultimately survives the near-death experience.
Exes who got stuck together via an IUD.
Early in Season 3, two patients, Sonya and Adam, are brought into the hospital after they got stuck together while in the midst of hooking up. It turns out this was an affair between two exes, and the medical reason for their *ahem* connection was Sonya's IUD getting caught on his piercing. Talk about a weird injury.
Man whose body turns sugar into booze.
This is one of the more memorable diseases from the later seasons of Grey's Anatomy's long run on television. In Season 15 a patient named Dave Buckley was admitted after a saw accident involving him and a young student from his shop class. While at first he appears drunk, he's later diagnosed with auto-brewery syndrome, which turns sugar into booze within his body.
The lady with a 70 pound tumor.
Back in Season 1 we're introduced to a patient named Annie Connors, who is hospitalized at Seattle Grace due to a giant tumor she had on her abdomen. She waited so long to seek treatment because of her fear of hospitals, where various members of her family died. Unfortunately, she also died during surgery.
Woman with toxic blood.
The Season 3 episode "Wishin' And Hopin'" focuses on two different engagements within the surgical staff, but there's also a super weird medical case. Meet Marina Rose Wagner, a patient of Richard's whose chemotherapy treatment, combined with an herbal supplement, caused her blood to become a neurotoxin. And she accidentally takes out a bunch of surgeons before they figure out how to treat her.
Woman who grows bones out of any physical trauma.
Cathy Rogerson is a patient from Season 3, who has a rare condition called fibrodysplasia ossificans progressiva. Anytime a physical trauma or bump occurs, a bone grows where it does not belong. As a result, she's almost completely immobile, except for her hands and mouth.
The man who thinks he's pregnant.
Shane Herman is a patient who appears briefly during Season 2 of Grey's Anatomy. He has a hysterical pregnancy, which is later revealed to be mesenteric teratoma. And in his defense, he certainly did look pregnant.
Cristina is impaled by an icicle.
During the two-part premiere of Grey's Season 5, Sandra Oh's Cristina Yang ensured her own strange injury. After falling underneath the hospital, a large icicle falls and impales her in the stomach. Luckily a newly arrived Dr. Owen Hunt is there to tend to her trauma injury.
Law student who intentionally burned herself.
Gretchen is a patient who appears in one episode of Grey's Anatomy Season 3. She's a law student who comes with a bad burn on her hand, which is later revealed to be self-inflicted so she can avoid taking the bar. Meredith figures out the truth and has her admitted to psych for her own safety.
Man who got mauled by a lion.
During Season 8, a patient named Paul (played by writer/actor Danny Strong) is admitted into the hospital under very strange circumstances. Specifically, he was mauled by his girlfriend's pet lion. And what resulted was a variety of injuries, including a tooth that was lodged in his body.
He kid who looks like a lion.
Actor Jesse Plemons is one of many notable guest stars who appeared on Grey's Anatomy before becoming a massive star. His character Jake with advanced craniodiaphyseal dysplasia, aka lionitis, with growths that give him a unique appearance. Unfortunately, he died before Mark Sloan was able to perform surgery to alter his appearance.
The man with a leg in the center of his body.
This one is a controversial medical case among the Grey's Anatomy fanbase. In Season 12, Brian Carson is introduced as a patient with osteosarcoma in his pelvis, spine, and sacrum. In order to remove cancerous bone, Callie amputates his leg and later re-attaches it to the center of his body to save the limb.
Jane Doe's facial injuries and amnesia.
Rebecca Pope aka Ava aka Jane Doe was found and saved by Karev during Season 3's ferry boat crash. Her injuries were severe, including a crushed face that left her unrecognizable, as well as memory loss. Unfortunately, her story didn't end up well, as even after she was found by her husband, she experienced psychosis and had a suicide attempt.
Millie Bobby Brown does surgery on her mother.
Before becoming a household name thanks to Stranger Things, Millie Bobby Brown appeared in Season 11 of Grey's Anatomy. When an earthquake rocks Seattle, Brown's character Ruby calls for help and is coached through a home surgery by Owen Hunt. We should have known right there and then that the Upside Down had no chance.
Izzie does saved a deer's life.
In the Season 4 premiere, the beloved original group of interns (except for George) are promoted to residents, and get their own group of interns. Izzie's first day doesn't go as planned, as a little boy asks her to save an injured deer that he brought to the ER. She does just that, to the dismay of the new surgeons.
The man with tree bark skin.
Jerry is a patient in Season 7 of Grey's Anatomy with a strain of HPV that covered him in warts and made his hands look like they were made of tree bark. The condition was wild, with a spider even leaving one of his warts upon removal. Unfortunately, eventually, his condition eventually became too overwhelming for his wife, to leave him.
The woman with independent pregnancies.
Noelle Lavette appears in Season 3 and is Addison's patient who is pregnant with twins. But she later discovers she's got uterus decephalus aka she was born with two uteruses. As a result, her "twins" were actually conceived separately, from two different fathers.
Woman with a gun inside her privates.
There have been a few gunshot incidents within the hospital during Grey's Anatomy, but this one is especially weird. Danielle Gordon is a patient who suffers a gunshot wound after the weapon she was smuggling into prison for her boyfriend went off... from within her private parts.
Cristina's heart in a box.
Sandra Oh's Cristina Yang is one of the most popular Grey's Anatomy characters of all time, thanks to her no-nonsense attitude and surgical genius. And in Season 8 Cristina and Teddy manage to remove a donor heart and connect it to a box and device that keeps it beating as it travels to LA.
Susan Grey dies from the hiccups.
During Season 2 and 3 we're introduced to Susan Grey, who is Meredith's stepmother and Thatcher's second wife. After getting close with Meredith, she's admitted to the hospital for having hiccups that won't stop. Unfortunately, her condition ended up worsening after being sent home, and she ended up septic and had a toxic megacolon with a perforation. Sadly, she ends up dying from complications in surgery.
