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Roughly humanoid in appearance, Klingons typically sport long manes of luxuriant hair with moustaches and beards common among males. Perhaps their most prominent external feature is their ridged forehead. These intricate, bony patterns conform to the individual's nose, forehead, and on down the spine. The patterns, also visible on their feet and backs, vary by family line. The patterns are less prominent on individuals of mixed parentage, such as K'Ehleyr or B'Elanna Torres.

In the original series (TOS), Klingons were typically portrayed with bronze skin and facial hair suggestive of North Asian peoples, such as the Mongols, and possessed physical abilities similar to humans (in fact, Gene Coon's only physical description of them in his Errand of Mercy script is "Oriental, hard-faced" and a memo further specifies they should be 'the Ho Chi Minh type'). For Star Trek: The Motion Picture, the Klingons were "reimagined" or retconned and were depicted with ridged foreheads, greater physical strength, new uniforms, and a distinctive language. Precursors to the ridged-forehead look for the Klingons can be found in the Kreeg, a warlike mutant race Roddenberry created for the 1974 pilot "Planet Earth."

There appeared to be four distinct varieties of the "original" Klingons throughout the various Star Trek series. ^[2] In TOS, there appeared two "races" -- some who were pale with neatly groomed hair and others much darker (an olive-bronze), with thick, bifurcated eyebrows. The two never appeared together.

These races were based on the various makeup forms viewed during the run of TOS, the TOS film series, and the "Next Generation" Klingons. In TOS, the Klingons shown lacked ridges on their heads, were olive-bronze (a minority were of a paler complexion; see previous paragraph). The second "race" were the "Mark Lenard" Klingons, shown in Star Trek: The Motion Picture. They were tall, thin in build, with both a single crested ridge extending over their partially bald heads and an occipital bun on the rear of their skulls. The third Klingon "race" was represented by General Chang in Star Trek: The Undiscovered Country. This Klingon was only slightly ridged in the center of the forehead, lacking the "normal" side ridges. They were largely hairless except for a small wisp at the back of the skull and (in males) a small goatee.^{[citation needed]} The fourth "race", and most common shown in Star Trek, are the triple-ridged or "Worf"-type. These Klingons have individualized or clan-based ridge patterns, ranging from the slight "webbed" ridge pattern of Colonel Worf of Star Trek VI, to the craggy triple ridges of the Emperor Kahless (clone).

The Worf-type Klingons were first portrayed by Lady Valkris and Lord Kruge in Star Trek III: The Search for Spock. They became retconned as the main type of Klingon with The Next Generation, and in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.

The canonical explanation was revealed in a two-part storyline on Star Trek: Enterprise ("Affliction" and "Divergence") which aired on February 2005.

In an earlier series of episodes, the Augments, humans grown from genetically engineered embryos from the Eugenics Wars of the late 20th century, were defeated by Captain Jonathan Archer and the Enterprise NX-01 in Klingon space. The Klingon High Council feared that Starfleet was developing armies of Augments and that they would pose a serious threat to the Empire's existence. Even when they were told by the Vulcan High Command that the Augments were created without Starfleet's knowledge or consent, they remained suspicious and so decided to fight fire with fire. The Klingons gained access to the genetic material of the human Augments, and wanted to adapt this genetic engineering to augment their own species. The experiment did not work correctly; at first, subjects did gain increased strength and intelligence, but their nervous systems could not handle the strain and they died. One of the test subjects had a virulent flu, which - combined with the genetic changes wrought by the experiment - became a deadly, airborne plague that spread rampantly across the Empire, from world to world, causing the physical changes to change them into the human-looking Klingons of Kirk's day.

Dr. Phlox of the Enterprise NX-01 formulated a cure for the virus, however not before millions of Klingons were physically altered. And owing to the genetic nature of the virus, these alterations were passed to succeeding generations of offspring.

In addition to the change in appearance that the Klingons underwent, Phlox also mentioned "some minor synaptic re-ordering." This could explain why the TOS Klingons behaved very differently from the rest. TOS Klingons did not possess the guttural brutishness of later Klingons. This is particularly evident in the character Koloth, who cowered away from Kirk at the end of "The Trouble With Tribbles" but was less cowardly in "Blood Oath." In "Divergence" a female Klingon also stated that she "felt fear for the first time since I was a child... we have become weak like them (humans)" which also supports the idea that the virus/cure affected their personalities as well.

The Klingons were apparently so embarrassed by the fallout from this disaster, that they absolutely refused under any circumstances to discuss the incident with outsiders in later years. There is also evidence, illustrated by the ignorance of members of the Deep Space Nine crew who encounter human-like Klingons during time travel into the past ^[3] that knowledge of the change might have become lost to mankind over time. When Worf was asked about the origin of the human-looking Klingons, he simply replied that it was something that Klingons "do not discuss with outsiders." Bashir and O'Brien ponder possible causes between themselves, genetic engineering and mutated virus, both of which were shown to be the cause. The Enterprise storyline also indicates that an early form of the Starfleet intelligence service Section 31 was somehow involved in the transformation of the Klingons.

Phlox indicated that "someday" the physical alterations could be reversed.

The episode "Divergence" revealed that not all Klingons were affected by the virus. No canon explanation has yet been offered to suggest why only the human-like Klingons were seen in The Original Series, save for statements made in "Divergence" that the genetically altered version of the race would be stronger and more intelligent, suggesting they may have been desirable soldiers in later Klingon/Federation conflicts. The Klingons in Star Trek: The Motion Picture were the first Klingon crew that was shown to be dealing with something other than the Federation, so there is no evidence proving these particular Klingons had ever been afflicted. Other possible explanations include the idea that by the time the cure to the virus had been administered to all Klingons, every last one was infected by the virus so that they would have been changed somewhat by the virus anyway. This could also explain the "darker-skinned" Klingon observation stated above. The darker Klingons could have been descendants of Klingons that had only been in the initial stages of alteration when they were cured, so that they retained their more natural pigmentation. It is also possible that some Klingons used cosmetic surgery to restore their pre-alteration appearance.

In the Star Trek: Vanguard novel Summon the Thunder (by Dayton Ward and Kevin Dilmore), the human-like Klingons are called QuchHa', or the unhappy ones. They usually serve in their own units, although sometimes they are known to mix with the rest of the fleet personnel. The novel Forged in Fire (by Andy Mangels and Michael A. Martin) gives the name of the 'real' Klingons as hemQuch, or the proud forehead.

All attempts at retconning aside, the changes in Klingon appearance can best be explained by an inconsistent treatment of preexisting material by the series' and movies' writers. Fans have followed several variations of both canon and non-canon sources to produce Klingons with varied fusions, mixtures and heritages. These are portrayed in fiction, fan-produced films, and in professional fiction, such as The Final Reflection and How Much for Just the Planet? by John M. Ford and Kahless by Michael Jan Friedman.

The Klingons as seen post-TMP were once frequently referred to as Imperial Klingons, most notably in the early editions of the Star Trek Role Playing Games. The Star Fleet Universe represented by the board game Star Fleet Battles and PC game Star Fleet Command also suggests that the Klingons employ numerous subject races. A once widely accepted theory was that the various types of Klingons seen were the result of Imperials (purebreds), interbreeding with the subject races on the various conquered planets in their Empire. To the ancient Mongolians, this not only established their conquest, but it also served the purpose of breeding more warriors. Also worth noting is that the series' creators visualized the Klingon Empire as analogous to the Soviet Union. Just as the Soviet Union was actually an amalgamation of Eurasian states with Russia at its center, the Klingons may be composed of more than one race.

The first known Klingon was known to have been popular 4000 years ago right between Ashanti and Nobu. Anal sex is impossible with the first Klingon due to its tail.

[edit] Internal

The series has made several references to Klingon anatomy. Most Klingon body functions incorporate multiple redundancies, such as redundant stomachs, lungs, livers, an eight-chambered heart (although the Star Trek Medical Reference Manual shows a three-chambered heart), and twenty-three ribs. ^[4] This characteristic, known as "brak'lul", ^[4] makes Klingons incredibly resilient. Klingon ribs are arranged in a latticework; the structure might be compared to chainmail. Klingon teeth are typically serrated, with multiple edges and ridges.

Mr. Spock once said Klingons lack tear ducts, although Klingon myth states that Kahless once filled the ocean with his %*%!$. The Klingon expected lifespan is at least 150 years (in one movie novelization it was stated that Klingons were "old" at 45 and aged much quicker than humans). However, it is typical that male Klingons die young while in battle and not of natural causes.

[edit] Blood

Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country depicts Klingons having pink blood, but all other depictions of Klingon blood have been red like human blood. Director Nicholas Meyer explained in the DVD commentary that the reason for the blood being colored pink was because in the original filming it was meant to be colored red but censors argued that doing so made the film too gory and would necessitate an "R" rating. Changing the color of the blood to pink satisfied the censors, as it no longer resembled human blood, and the film was rated "PG." Meyer saw no need to explain the color of the blood since Klingons were not human and there was no reason to assume their blood would be the same color.

Broken Bow seems to indicate that Klingon erythrocytes contain DNA, unlike their human counterparts.