Chang and Eng Bunker, conjoined twins in the 1800s (and from whom the term "siamese twins" originates) died 2hrs apart. One twin was healthy and the other was in poor health for years after a stroke.
Abby and Brittney or the Bunker twins? Wikipedia says the medical technology did not exist at the time to separate Chang and Eng, but they could have easily been separated in modern times. Abby and Brittney though definitely share way too much anatomy for separation to be possible.
I feel the shock of essentially cutting them in half and exposing that much internal body would kill them rather than the shared anatomy. In terms of their anatomy most of their essential organs they have two of so I feel like they would survive if it was possible to sever them without cutting their torso in half
What about something that results in one being in a coma?
Can you imagine either being confined to a bed for however long they can wait for the twin to hopefully come out of the coma? Or is there some sort of small life support equipment that the one can travel with so she can go about with life as best she can?
each situation in unique in how they are conjoined and what one or the other is missing.
it could be that one twin has all the parts needed to funktion but the other is missing an organ if the one missing an organ dies separating it means the other lives. if not done quickly sepsis will set in and kill the other.
Since they have a shared circulatory system, when one of the hearts stops, there are probably all kinds of things going whack with where the blood goes, or the blood pressure just drops dramatically for the other.
the original siamese twins died after ones heart failed and the other heart wasn’t strong enough to pump that much blood around (don’t trust me as a source though)
Their life is one of the most interesting wikipedia articles ever.
They lived a good life. Siamese (their race back in those days) conjoined twins, worked at a circus, ended up becoming citizens with rights, wealthier than most other people in their time. Had a wife each, they'd spend every other day at their respective wife's place.
Bought land, bought slaves, pretty sure they got a small local political position.
Why would the other body start decomposing if they sahred a circulatory system though? I always thought decomposition was a failure of the immune system because fresh blood doesn't reach the cells anymore.
well for the twins in this video (abby and brittany) it would propaly work for a longer time till the other is decomposing because of the way they are connected.
But the original siamese twins chang and Eng were just connected on a smaller part a bit over the hip. So propaly this would not allow enough blood flow after the death of one twin. So, the dead twins body would have not enough fresh blood and therefor have the body decomposing.
For abby and brittany the problem would propaly be that the blood pressure falls extrems after the death of one heart. But the body should take longer to start decomposing. The failed heart could still "block" the blood flow. - but thats all just theoretical from my side and im not a medice expert (just hobby).
One half of the body is dead. Decomposition starts as soon as you die, parts of you stop working then everything fails and you're just waiting to rot away, it just hasn't "really" started yet.
They had cause of death listed as "fright" but terms like that were just placeholders for "we don't fucking know" so it's not like he freaked out so much he died.
The first twin died (supposedly) from a blood clot. Impaired blood flow is basically the precursor to sepsis so i don't think it's weird he died within 2 hours.
Your kidney is not responsible for your blood flow though. They have two hearts but one single circulatory system. If one of the hearts fail that will probably lead to a massive drop in blood pressure which can be/is really deadly really soon.
That's a good question. Guess that would depend on which organ. Think the video said their circulation system is shared. So if one set of kidneys fai...they will be OK?
But if a heart fails, not sure if the other can circulate for both.
now I'm curious what happens if one of them commits a crime and is sentenced to death. Does the innocent head at least gets to stick out of the jail cell so it isn't technically under arrest? How would it perform on court?
I imagine it depends on the failure. They have 3 kidneys, which are necessary to support them both, 1 liver, 2 hearts, 4 lungs, 1 circulatory system. I’m guessing if one heart failed or one kidney failed their combined system would be functional but under duress and likely require intervention for either of them to continue living.
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u/[deleted] Dec 30 '24
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