Talk:Conjoined twins

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[edit] Medical specimens

Image:Human conjoined twins DSC09364.jpg

Those photos of medical specimens are gruesome -- does anyone have a picture of living, healthy human conjoined twins? - Montréalais 20:53, 20 Dec 2004 (UTC)

Agreed. I'm not for censorship but those are quite horrible. violet/riga (t) 21:59, 20 Dec 2004 (UTC)
Right. To clarify, I didn't mean they should be]] Bjarmason 16:12, 2004 Dec 22 (UTC)
I've replaced the two-headed-corpse-in-bottle picture with the one from Chang and Eng Bunker. Plop 10:59, Jan 19, 2005 (UTC)
The picture of Chang and Eng is fine. I'm removing the other human one; feel free to put it back if you so desire. Junkyardprince | Tark 03:33, 4 Mar 2005 (UTC)
I put the pictures back in, first of all because having another one does not cause trouble with the current layout (fits just perfectly), and second if one was to be removed I nominate the cattle, the anatomy of a human featus is better recognizable to the target audiance. —Ævar Arnfjörð Bjarmason
I'll admit to being a bit surprised by the fetus picture when I came here to do the disambig. How about if it's moved into third place, so it's below the fold (so to speak), as a compromise? —Korath (Talk) 07:12, Mar 4, 2005 (UTC)
that seems like the best course of action to me. Thryduulf 22:18, 4 Mar 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Stuck on You

Should mention movie on subject. --Daniel C. Boyer 23:48, 27 July 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Fission theory vs. Fusion theory?

I read that there are two different theories of how siamese twins come to be - the more commonly known one being the "fission" theory (an egg fails to completely seperate and thus two babies are joined), but the "fusion" theory (soft tissue during the first few weeks of birth joins when twin babies are cramped together in the womb) explains twins who are joined back to back, and would bring a measure of credulity to the term "conjoined".

Although the fission theory was once widely accepted, modern experimentation appears to have refuted it and confirmed that conjoined twins are caused by "fusion" ([1]). Schzmo 22:17, 5 December 2005 (UTC)
The fusion theory, as it is popularly known, does not quite say what people think it does. The fusion, such as it is, happens when each embryo is about 3 layers of cells thick. Calling this "fusion" gives an impression of two fully formed fetuses merging, which is not accurate. Furthermore, more recent research contradicts the review cited. See, e.g., Childs Nerv Syst. 2004 Aug;20(8-9):508-25. Epub 2004 Jul 27. [PMID 15278382]: "Conjoined twinning occurs by the incomplete splitting of the embryonic axis and, with the exception of parasitic conjoined twins, all are symmetrical and "the same parts are always united to the same parts". Fusion of monozygotic twins is no longer believed to be the basis of conjoined twinning." Nandesuka 01:02, 18 December 2005 (UTC)

Is it possible for conjoined twins to be opposite genders? I haven't found anything about this besides Chimera twins. Those are just one person though...Is it possible to have two distinct twins that are opposite genders? It doesn't really sound possible with the fusion theory unless sex is determined(or maybe it could mutate?) past the point where the fusion happens. Also, can you have say conjoined triplets, or even quads or more? Emzly_Emzie

ok gender does not mutate like that. there have been cases of conjoined triplets, and as for quads, only in a situation where there were the four babies, two of which were joined. conjoined twins are identical genetically. there is evidence that too much sonic hedgehog protein (i am NOT making that up, it was discovered and named in the eighties), a protein involved in establishing the midline of a person, causes duplication of the face. it seems that some twining is like this :""Conjoined twinning occurs by the incomplete splitting of the embryonic axis and, with the exception of parasitic conjoined twins, all are symmetrical and "the same parts are always united to the same parts". " but definitely not all. the worlds oldest twins are joined at the head on an angle and are not symmetrical. There is more than one cause of these conditions.

Still did not get an answer on whether or not conjoined twins can be male-female. I'm assuming so since I've heard of Chimeras that have both male and female genitalia, and they are (in a sense) conjoined twins. Emzly_Emzie

You did get an answer on the male-female question, if the person above you is right about gender "not mutating like that". (Conjoined twins could only be different genders if one's gender mutated.) However, that person also said that there have been conjoined triplets and I know of no such case (and have read that there has been no such case). There have just been identical triplets where two are conjoined. That person also said that the world's oldest [conjojned] twins (presumably meaning Lori and Reba Schappell, actually just the oldest female conjoined twins) are not symmetrically joined, but they are - just rotationally rather than laterally. Salopian (talk) 15:43, 13 February 2008 (UTC)

[edit] one brain

"In some cases, parts of the brain have been known to be shared between conjoined twins joined at the head." any examples of this? survivability? seems to be an incredible event with many implications. Oh and that picture is truly gruesome.

hey is this how you answer a question? well, there are a couple of little girls from italy due to be seperated in June 07 who share a little brain matter. if i remember correctly, its part of one girl's occipital lobe and somewhere around the other's pariatal lobe that overlap. I have no idea how they'll make their way around this problem when they seperate them, but they have to, because both kidneys of one of the girls are failing.


Venna And Vani shared a brain.look it up on google images.Coolgirly88 20:58, 19 October 2007 (UTC)

[edit] The Pain

Does the mother feels more pain then a normal chlid birth?

I would think that women pregnant with conjoined twins would have a c-section. Emzly_Emzie
I would think so as well, but in earlier times (middle ages and before), how did they a) diagnose conjoined twins and b) perform a c-section without the mother dying? Jalwikip 15:07, 12 November 2007 (UTC)

[edit] In Uzbek city Khorezm were born new conjoined twins

July 21, 2006. New babies in Uzbek city Khorezm were born conjoined earlier this month according to news website ferghana.ru. Babies are boys. They are conjoined from the front abdomen and share common liver which will probably cause one of the babies' fatality in case if they will be separated. [2] [[3]]

[edit] Crappy article

This article has nothing at all about how it actually works - how they control the body, etc. --SPUI (T - C) 23:37, 30 July 2006 (UTC)

And can conjoined twins legally marry or have children, I'm particularly refering to those with only on set of sexual organs. For example, who were the oldest living Dicephalus twins, and did they have one spouse or two?

Yes, we really need info about how "they" work, as with the body and organs and stuff. What if one commits suicide and the other lives on, what happens. Many questions can be answered to quench the thirst for knowledge!

^ I'm pretty sure the other one would die pretty soon after the first. Depending on where they're joined etc, one generally can't survive without the other. I saw a documentary about Chang and Eng. As I recall, Eng liked to drink a lot but Chang was a teetotaller. When Eng had been drinking would Chang also feel drunk?

Yeah, this article really needs some more information. It gives me plently of examples of the types of conjoinings and lists people that are conjoined, but like I wanna know like, what if one of the twins wants to move their arm one way and the other one wants to move it the other way? Do they like each get one arm each or what. If one person eats does the other twin get to eat or only feel full?
I'd think that each individual case of conjoined twining would be different. Thus, it would be difficult to say how they function. Emzly_Emzie

On the legal front, what would happen if one of a pair of conjoined twins committed a crime? Unlikely though it sounds, it might be possible with a pair of pypopagus or other twins with control of one or two arms each. Would they both go to prison, even if one was innocent? Twit8514 —The preceding signed but undated comment was added at 17:46, August 26, 2007 (UTC).

The twins Violet and Daisy Hilton, who had a silent/early sound movie career, made a film on that topic. It's really hard to track down though, sadly.. 79.68.57.25 (talk) 11:33, 20 April 2008 (UTC)


[edit] What's the word...?

Its like a weasal word but its put by some one who is sypathetic &/or suppotive to what the article concerns and put there to make it sound more good then it really is? Whatever its called, all the articles linking from this page are FULL of them. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 69.250.130.215 (talk • contribs)

[edit] Systemic bias in "Conjoined twins in history" section

The "Conjoined twins in history" section seems to address the subject mainly from a Western/European perspective. I highly doubt that the "earliest known case" of the condition in all of human history dates from A.D. 945. Most of the other examples discussed seem to be of European or American origin as well. --Slowking Man 05:43, 6 January 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Organization

I think the "Types of Conjoined Twins" should perhaps be put before the "History" section -- reading the History, it mentions what types of twins certain people were, which leaves one a bit confused until they read the Types section.. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 69.15.127.230 (talk • contribs) 23:51, 13 April 2007

Hear, hear. --Kingers 17:49, 26 August 2007 (UTC)

[edit] meaning

does anyone know why siamese twins are called saimese twins? Is it racially/ethnicity linked or is it just one of those things? Started by ignorant people because they had a grudge? Does anyone know the origins of the term? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 66.81.253.110 (talk) 05:21, 27 September 2007 (UTC)

Because chang and ang bunker were born in Siam,thus ghiving the name,"Siamese twins"Coolgirly88 20:59, 19 October 2007 (UTC)

[edit] During pregancy

When they do scans during pregnancy, is it obvious that the twins are cojoined, and can they tell the extent or anything like what organs are shared? Or is it one of those things you only find out after giving birth? 79.68.57.25 (talk) 11:33, 20 April 2008 (UTC)