Los Angeles, California - Actor Joe Manganiello recently gave fans a peek at the massive, three-foot-long dragon tattoo he got to cover up surgery scars from a serious health battle he fought in private.

The 49-year-old has made headlines with a new memoir, Bloodlines, where he disclosed a years-long fight against a mysterious autoimmune illness.

"In chapter four, I related my struggle with the illness to my body sending out knights to fight a (western) dragon that didn't exist," he explained in an Instagram post this week.

"The soldiers would then punch holes throughout my body when they couldn’t find an enemy."

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This connection inspired the sprawling tattoo that ultimately covered up the scars that came from the multiple surgeries he underwent to address his condition.

The accompanying photos show the tattoo through several stages, starting as a black outline and progressing to a full-color piece featuring bright orange hues.

The ink spreads from up near his belly button down towards his right knee.

He described the tattoo as an "effort to take back what little agency I felt that I had" and a "signal" to his body to stop fighting itself.

Elsewhere in his memoir, Manganiello dropped some shocking confessions about the end of his marriage to Sofia Vegara, revealing that his health issues were a major influence in their split.