Different Types of Conjoined Twins

Thoracopagus-Joined at the upper chest


Omphalopagus-Joined at the abdomen



Ischiopagus-Joined at the front pelvis and sacrum(lower spine)


Parapagus-Joined side by side at the torso


Dicephalus-A subset of parapagus



Craniopagus-Joined by the portion of the skull


Pypopagus-Joined back to back at the pelvis and lower spine

Parasistic-Any of the above types can result in a case of parasitic twins if one twin dies or receives inadequate nutrition while in utero

Informational Resources

www.twinstuff.com

www.wikipedia.com

http://multiples.about.com/od/conjoinedtwins/Conjoined_Twins_Siamese_Twins.htm

http://www.phreeque.com/conjoined_twins.html

http://www.umm.edu/conjoined_twins/facts.htm

http://www.chaimedia.com/list/335.html

http://www.twinsworld.com/stats.shtml

Fun Facts About Twins

A peasant named Kirilow was presented to the empress of Russia in 1853 for the following reason. He had been married twice. His first wife bore fifty seven children, including four sets of quadruplets, seven sets of triplets, and two sets of twins. His second wife gave birth to fifteen children-six sets of twins and one set of triplets. At the time of his presentation to the empress, all seventy two of Kirilow's children were still alive.

Mrs. Mary Jonas (d. 1899) had 15 sets of boy/girl twins.

A woman from Italy had 11 sets of fraternal twins in 11 years the last being in 1947 - not all of them survived.

Marcella Mills-Bigcrow of Pine Ridge, South Dakota had 8 sets of twins,
along with 8 single births. All the babies survived, and were born between the 1940's and 1960's.

The Tremblay's of Quebec, Canada had 6 sets of twins in 8 years. Raymonde (her twin died at birth), Ronald & Ronaldo, Jacques & Jacqueline, Jules & Julien, Francine & Francois, Christien & Christiane.

Mrs. Barbara Zulu of South Africa had 6 sets of twins in 7 years (1967-73), 3 sets of girls, 3 mixed)

The Lecus family had 6 sets of twins and 19 children in total: Edna and Edward on April 3 1886, Charles and Martha April 27 1887, Elizabeth and Irene July 15 1888, Louise and Esther on August 8 1892, Agnes and David on January 3 1899 (Agnes died at age 7), and Emma and Viola in 1902. All were born in the Illinois/Michigan/Wisconsin area. Another daughter, Evangeline, had quadruplets that died at birth.

Six sets of twins were born to Mrs. Harry Fifield of Connecticut.

The Bockus family of Montreal had five sets, the last being born April 4 1845, a boy/girl set.

Top 10 Facts About Conjoined Twins

These are the top 10 facts about conjoined twins:

1. Are identical twins who develop with a single placenta from a single fertilized ovum.

2. Are always the same sex and race.

3. Are more often female than male, at a ratio of 3:1.

4. Occur as often as once in every 40,000 births but only once in every 200,000 live births.

4. Are more likely to occur in India or Africa than in China or the United States.

5. May be caused by any number of factors, being influenced by genetic and environmental conditions. It is presently thought that these factors are responsible for the failure of twins to separate after the 13th day after fertilization.

6. Conjoined twins can be artificially generated in amphibians by constricting the embryo so that two embryos form, one on each side of the constriction.

7. There are no documented cases of conjoined triplets or quadruplets.

8. Up until 1990, surgical separation of conjoined twins has been attempted 167 times

9. Conjoined twins have lived from a few minutes to 63 years.

10. The first recorded conjoined twins were in England in 1100 A.D.

Abigail & Brittany Hensel

Abigail and Brittany Hensel are a recently famous pair of conjoined twins. They were born on March 7th, 1990 in Carver County, Minnesota. They are dicephalic parapagus conjoined twins, and are now 18. Magazines have said they were engaged, but it hasnt been confirmed!

Andy Garcia is an actor, and was born w/ his stillborn twin attachted to him. They were seperated at birth.

Early Pairs of Conjoined Twins

The "first" conjoined twins were Eng & Chang Bunker, born in Siam (now Thailand) in 1811, and their fame helped coin the phrase "siamese twins". They moved to America, then toured Europe w/ the Barnum and Bailey circus. After years of travelling, they finally decided to settle down in Wilkesboro, North Carolina. They fathered 11 children total, and married Adelaide and Sarah Ann Yates (siblings of nine daughters). Chang Bunker died in January, 1874, possibly from bronchitis. Eng Bunker died shortly after.

Another known pair of conjoined twinsw were the Biddenden Maids (Mary and Elizabeth Chulkhurst) who were born in 1100, in Biddenden, Kentucky. They were said to be Pypopagus twins, but no one knows for sure.

The earliest separation of conjoined twins weas carried out by a German doctor; G. Konig.

Conjoined Twins Statistics

Female siblings seem to have a better shot at survival than their male counterparts. Although more male twins conjoin in the womb than females, females are three times as likely as males to be born alive. Approximately 70% of all conjoined twins are girls.

Mortality rates for twins who undergo seperation vary, depending on their type of connection, and the organs they share. For example, twins joined at the sacrum at the base of the spine have a 68% chance of successful seperation, whereas in cases of twins with conjoined hearts at the ventricular (pumping chamber) level, there are no known survivors.