Conjoined Twins: Conjoined Twins, Polycephaly, Abigail and Brittany Hensel, Chang and Eng Bunker, Lakshmi Tatma, Lori and George Schappell

Please note that the content of this book primarily consists of articles available from Wikipedia or other free sources online. Pages: 31. Chapters: Polycephaly, Biddenden Maids, Abigail and Brittany Hensel, Chang and Eng Bunker, Lakshmi Tatma, Lori and George Schappell, Millie and Christine McCoy, Craniopagus parasiticus, Krista and Tatiana Hogan, Daisy and Violet Hilton, Giacomo and Giovanni Battista Tocci, Ladan and Laleh Bijani, Ronnie and Donnie Galyon, Kendra and Maliyah Herrin, Re A, Parasitic twin, Anastasia and Tatiana Dogaru, Viet and Duc Nguyen, Frank Lentini, Carl and Clarence Aguirre, Joseph and Luka Banda, Rudy Santos, Twin reversed arterial perfusion, Lazarus and Joannes Baptista Colloredo, Craniopagus twins, Lucio and Simplicio Godina, Masha and Dasha Krivoshlyapova, Helen and Judith of Szony. Excerpt: Conjoined twins (also known as Siamese twins) are identical twins whose bodies are joined in utero. A rare phenomenon, the occurrence is estimated to range from 1 in 50,000 births to 1 in 100,000 births, with a somewhat higher incidence in Southwest Asia and Africa. Approximately half are stillborn, and a smaller fraction of pairs born alive have abnormalities incompatible with life. The overall survival rate for conjoined twins is approximately 25%. The condition is more frequently found among females, with a ratio of 3:1. Two contradicting theories exist to explain the origins of conjoined twins. The older theory is fission, in which the fertilized egg splits partially. The second and more generally accepted theory is fusion, in which a fertilized egg completely separates, but stem cells (which search for similar cells) find like-stem cells on the other twin and fuse the twins together. Conjoined twins share a single common chorion, placenta, and amniotic sac, although these characteristics are not exclusive to conjoined twins as there are some monozygotic but non-conjoined twins that also share these structures in utero. The most famous pair of ...