The four-month old baby from Maryland, United States, suffered from a rare type of brain tumor, which contained several fully formed teeth. Doctors told, that was the first such case in their practice.

The baby is thought to be the first person in the world to be found to have teeth within this type of brain tumour. The child first came to the attention of doctors after a routine health check revealed his head was growing faster than expected. He had an MRI scan which revealed a tumour near his pituitary gland which measured 4.1cm by 4cm by 3.5cm.

The scan revealed that the tumour also contained teeth very similar to those found in the lower jaw. The baby underwent surgery to remove the tumour and further tests revealed it was a slow-growing mass called adamantinomatous craniopharyngioma.

The tumour is thought to have arisen from Rathke's pouch, an embryonic precursor to part of the pituitary gland. The boy is making a good progress after the surgery, according to the doctors. However, he has had to have a shunt fitted to drain brain and spinal fluid from his head.

Dr Narlin Beaty, a neurosurgeon at the University of Maryland, who performed the boy's surgery, told Mail Online: ‘It's not every day you see teeth in any type of tumour in the brain. In a craniopharyngioma, it's unheard of.’