Woodcut of a "man without arms" from Des Monstres et prodiges by Ambroise Par矇, 1573. Des Monstres is filled with unsubstantiated accounts of sea devils, marine sows, and monstrous animals with human faces. With its extensive discussion of reproduction and illustrations of birth defects, the book invited accusations of pornography. Amelia is the birth defect of lacking one or more limbs. It can also result in a shrunken or deformed limb. A related term is meromelia, which is the partial absence of a limb or limbs.