There have been numerous medical records in history of people adversely affected by dwarfism and gigantism, causing a person to either be stunted or grow exponentially. One case proved to be more unique than most -- the case of a man who suffered from both conditions in his lifetime.

This is the peculiar story of Adam Rainer, born in Austria in 1899. As a baby, Rainer was a picture of perfect health. But this changed as he approaches his teenage years. At 16, he was only 4'6" in height and was deemed a dwarf. He wasn't able to fight in the First World War because he was "too short and too weak" to be a soldier.

As he approached his 21st birthday, Rainer grew a few inches taller, he was now 4’11”, yet this was still well below the average male height of his age. Then things took an unexpected turn. By the time he was in his 30s, Rainer was 7’1” tall!

This remarkable change in height intrigued and confused the doctors of the time. The massive increase in height over the ten year period had them stumped. It turned out that a tumour in Rainer's the pituitary gland was producing too much growth-hormone, leading to a continual growth in height.

Sadly the condition was taking its toll on Adam Rainer’s health. He developed a massive curvature in his spine, he underwent a surgery to remove the tumour to stop the growth. The surgery partially worked, with the growth spurt only being slowed down rather than stopped all together.

He would continue to grow until his death at 51. As a result, he has had many health problems to deal with, including losing the ability to walk, the sight from his right eye, and the hearing from his left ear.

He was a gigantic 7’11” at the time of his death, and to this date remains the only case of a man who was both a dwarf and giant in his lifetime.