Conjoined twins, popularly referred to as Siamese twins, are twins joined in utero. It is a very rare phenomenon, estimated to occur in anywhere between one in 49,000 births to one in 189,000 births, with a somewhat higher incidence in Southwest Asia and Africa. Approximately half are stillborn, and an additional one-third die within 24 hours. Most live births are female, with a ratio of 3:1.
Chang Bunker and Eng Bunker were Siamese (Thai)-American conjoined twin brothers whose fame propelled the expression "Siamese twins" to become synonymous for conjoined twins in general. They were widely exhibited as curiosities and were "two of the nineteenth century's most studied human beings".
Keith Goh is a neurosurgeon from Singapore. Goh is known for his operations in separating conjoined twins with two known successful cases and a failed attempt in separating Ladan and Laleh Bijani.
Siamese describes something of or related to Siam, or more specifically the region of Central Thailand, usually including Southern Thailand.
Daisy and Violet Hilton were English-born entertainers who were conjoined twins. They were exhibited in Europe as children, and toured the United States sideshow, vaudeville and American burlesque circuits in the 1920s and 1930s. They were best known for their film appearances in Freaks and the biographic Chained for Life (1951).
The Hilton sisters may refer to:
Abigail Loraine Hensel and Brittany Lee Hensel are American conjoined twins. They are dicephalic parapagus twins, and are highly symmetric for conjoined twins. Each has a heart, stomach, spine, pair of lungs, and spinal cord. Each twin controls one arm and one leg. When they were infants, learning to crawl, walk, and clap required cooperation. They can eat and write separately and simultaneously. Activities such as running, swimming, hair-brushing, playing piano or volleyball, riding a bicycle, or driving a car require coordination.
Maria and Daria Ivanovna Krivoshlyapova were Ischiopagus tripus conjoined twins from Russia.
Lori and George Schappell were American conjoined twins. George performed as a country singer. As of 2020, they were the oldest living conjoined twins in the world. Guinness World Records noted that George's gender transition made him and Lori the first set of conjoined twins to identify as different genders.
Stuck on You is a 2003 American comedy film written and directed by the Farrelly brothers, and starring Matt Damon and Greg Kinnear as conjoined twin brothers, whose conflicting aspirations provide both conflict and humorous situations, in particular when one of them wishes to move to Hollywood to pursue a career as an actor.
Ischiopagi comes from the Greek word ischio- meaning hip (ilium) and -pagus meaning fixed or united. It is the medical term used for conjoined twins who are united at the pelvis. The twins are classically joined with the vertebral axis at 180°. The conjoined twins usually have four arms; two, three or four legs; and typically one external genitalia and anus.
NGC 4567 and NGC 4568 are a set of unbarred spiral galaxies about 60 million light-years away in the constellation Virgo. They were both discovered by William Herschel in 1784. They are part of the Virgo Cluster of galaxies.
Yarlagadda Nayudamma is a consultant paediatric surgeon from Guntur, India. Previously, he operated at the Guntur General Hospital where he was the head of the paediatric surgery department.
Chang & Eng is a Singaporean musical theatre production directed by Ekachai Uekrongtham based on the lives of the Siamese twins, Chang and Eng Bunker. The music and lyrics were by Ken Low, with the book by Ming Wong, costumes by Niphon Tuntiyothin, set design by Thoranisorn Pitikul, lighting by Thio Lay Hoon, orchestral arrangement by Iskandar Ismail and choral direction by Babes Condes. The musical was first performed in 1997, rerun in subsequent years until 2002 and has since travelled around Asia. Performers such as RJ Rosales, Robin Goh and Edmund Toh have been cast as Chang and Eng, and writer-composer Ken Low has a cameo as the King of Siam in some productions.
Dicephalic parapagus is a rare form of partial twinning with two heads side by side on one torso. Infants conjoined this way are sometimes called "two-headed babies" in popular media. The condition is also called parapagus dicephalus.
Ilona and Judit Gófitz, also known as the Hungarian Sisters, were conjoined twins from Szőny, Hungary who lived from 19 October 1701 to 8 February 1723. The sisters, who were pygopagus, were examined by doctors and exhibited to curious crowds throughout Europe. At the age of nine, the pair retired to a convent in Presburg, Kingdom of Hungary, where they spent the rest of their lives. They died within hours of each other.
Rowena Spencer was an American physician who specialized in pediatric surgery at a time when it was unusual for a female to become a surgeon. She was the first female surgical intern at the Johns Hopkins Hospital, the first female appointed to the full-time surgery staff at Louisiana State University, and the first female surgeon in Louisiana.
Chaarulatha is a 2012 Indian horror film made in Kannada and Tamil. The film was directed by Pon Kumaran, a former associate to K. Bhagyaraj and K. S. Ravikumar, and features Priyamani in a dual role and Skanda Ashok in a male lead with an ensemble supporting cast. The film was an adaptation of the Thai horror film Alone which itself was based on My Brothers Keeper an episode of Tale From The Crypt season 2. Sundar C Babu composed the film's music. The film’s story is about conjoined twins. Produced by Global One Studios and distributed by Hansraj Saxena's Sax Pictures.
Craniopagus twins are conjoined twins who are fused at the cranium. The union may occur on any portion of the cranium, but does not primarily involve either the face or the foramen magnum; the two brains are usually separate, but they may share some brain tissue. Conjoined twins are genetically identical and always share the same sex. The thorax and abdomen are separate and each twin has their own umbilicus and umbilical cord.
Chang and Eng Bunker (1811–1874) were conjoined twin brothers known as the "Siamese twins".
