Description
Labels Conjoined Twins
Conjoined twins may share tissue, organ systems, or both, depending on
the points at which their bodies are fused:
the points at which their bodies are fused:
- Thoracopagus: 40 percent of conjoined twins are joined at the
chest. These twins always share a heart. - Omphalopagus: This term refers to twins joined at the abdomen,
and these account for 34 percent of cases. These twins often share
a liver and digestive system. - Pygopagus: The twins are joined back to back at the buttocks and
account for 18 percent of cases. These twins sometimes share the
lower part of the digestive tract or the genital organs. - Ischiopagus: The twins are joined at the pelvis or lower spine
with the lower half of the bodies fused. They have four arms but
may have between two and four legs. Six percent of cases fall into
this group. - Craniopagus: Two percent of conjoined twins are fused at the
head but the bodies are separate. In some cases these twins share
part of the brain as well as the skull. - Parasitic twins: This term is used to describe cases in which one
twin is much smaller than the other and depends on the larger
twin for survival. Some researchers estimate that 10 percent of
conjoined twins fall into this category.
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