PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS

The skeleton being bipedal and completely upright, the internal organs are stacked upon each other as in other humanoids rather than hanging in the belly cavity as is the case with four-legged animals.  The Cardassian has the same analogous organs that Humans do, and internal organs are placed roughly in the same areas.  However there are some size and structural differences, even though their functions are the same.

Cardassians have no body hair except on the head, and that is thick, black, and straight.  Cardassian scales are raised patterns on the skin rather than overlapping scales as in a fish.  Skin coloration varies from dark gray to an umber-gray, depending on race. The pattern of scales fades noticeably on the belly, soft parts of the face, and buttocks. They are heaviest in the bony areas of the body, such as the neck, forehead, lower jaw, upper torso, spine, hips, and outer joints (knees, elbows, etc.) Cardassians have a spoon-shaped crest on their foreheads and on their breastbones.  Female crests have a light blue tint to them, and females will cosmetically color them a darker blue when they are seeking a mate as a sign of their fertility.

Cardassian bone structure is heavy and thick and males tend to be broad shouldered with small waists and hips.  There is almost no body fat on a fit Cardassian male and young females have about 10% body fat.  Older Cardassians put on body fat because of slowed metabolism, and those who indulge in too much alien food.

Cardassians are most comfortable in hot and humid climates. Their lower body temperature makes them feel cool to the touch.  When in dry and/or cooler environments, they will seek out saunas, hot springs, or hot showers to relax in after duty hours.

Cardassians have a heightened sense of sight and they tend to notice details that humans miss.  Their visual spectrum is similar to humans, however. Their senses of smell and taste are less acute, and they tend to spice their food  and create highly decorative meals to compensate.

Reptilian characteristics are most evident in the Cardassian urinary and reproductive organs.  The kidneys are low in the abdomen with short ureters, which empty directly into a common sac, a cloaca, leading to a single opening from the body.  The cloaca also receives solid waste from the intestines and in females, acts as a birth canal for the child.

Males have internal testicles and a penis.  From the exterior, no reproductive organs are evident, and the pubis of the male and female look similar with the male pubis slightly enlarged  into a pouch. The pubis covered with soft scales and completely hairless. The testicles lie directly above the penis within the body cavity.  The penis lies within the pouch until erection. Males are fertile their entire lives.

Cardassian females have mammary glands to nurse their young.  Males have rudimentary nipples that may or may not produce nourishment for offspring, depending on need and the particular

hormonal balance within the male. These glands and nipples are located as they are in humans, that is, over the pectoral muscles.

Cardassian females have seasons in which they are fertile, though they engage in sexual activity year round.  Females only produce one  egg a year and twinning is extremely rare. They have two ovaries that deposit the egg into oviducts that lead to the uterus.  The uterus connects to the cloaca by a short tube analogous to a cervix. It is rare for a female to produce eggs after the age of 40.

REPRODUCTION

Fertilization is internal, with the male producing sperm.  A mature egg produces a chemical that guides the sperm to the egg. Once the egg is fertilized and begins to descend, the uterine walls exude a cellular liquid that forms a soft multi-layered nutrient shell about the fetus.  This shell adheres to the lining of the uterus and acts as a rudimentary placenta, providing oxygen to the fetus. The soft protein shell expands as the embryo grows, in response to the pressure of the embryo within it.

Unfertilized eggs dissolve and are excreted with bodily wastes.

EMBRYOLOGY

Gestation is short by humanoid standards, only four months. The fertilized egg rapidly goes through the same developmental stages of a land-based reptile, then passes beyond those stages to a humanoid, taking on the mammalian characteristics programmed into its DNA.  The child is nourished by an egg yoke, which is absorbed into the body before birth.  Oxygen reaches the child through the porous membrane of the egg shell.  At birth, the egg sac separates from the uterine wall and may or may not break open before the child emerges. It is soft enough to pass though the birth canal without damage to either the mother or child.

NATOLOGY

Cardassian children can see as soon as they are born, but need close nurturing until they are able to walk.  Their speech development and motor skills mirror that of Humans, but their minds are much farther developed.  By the time they begin to talk, they already have a good understanding of the world around them.

Males and females share child rearing duties.

DISEASES

Kalla Norah Syndrome - A pulmonary disease caused by exposure to anti-leptons at Gallitep Labor Camp on Bajor. No known cure but can be managed through treatment. Kalla Nora was the first Bajoran to be diagnosed, hence the name, even though it also affected Cardassians.

Coleibric Hemorrhage - Blood hemorrhage of a part of Cardassian anatomy. There is no known cure.

Yarim Fel Syndrome - Fatal and painful degradation of organ systems. There is no cure but medication will ease the pain.