trichobezoar

Rapunzel syndrome - a unusual condition resulting from trichobezoar (eating hair)

A trichobezoar is a bezoar (a mass found trapped in the gastrointestinal system) formed from the ingestion of hair.

Because the human gastrointestinal tract is unable to digest human hair, the trichobezoar may have to be treated surgically.

"Nevertheless, she has been gagging repeatedly for a period of 12.637 hours, which leads me to suspect the presence of a singularly stubborn trichobezoar."

A trichobezoar at the National Museum of Health and Medicine, Washington DC.

Rapunzel syndrome, an extreme form of trichobezoar in which the "tail" of the hair ball extends into the intestines, can be fatal if misdiagnosed.

In trichophagia, people with trichotillomania also ingest the hair that they pull; in extreme (and rare) cases this can lead to a hair ball (trichobezoar).