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WHAT ARE "SIAMESE" OR CONJOINED TWINS?

As we know, a baby is created when an egg is fertilized by a sperm. The fertilized egg then travels to the mother's uterus where it grows into an embryo, then into a fetus, and is ultimately born as a baby. Usually one fertilized egg turns into one baby. Identical twins are formed when a fertilized egg, for some unknown reason, divides into two eggs. The two eggs grow into two babies that are identical in every respect. Fraternal twins, on the other hand, are formed when two different sperm fertilize two different eggs. Both eggs grow into twins who don't necessarily look alike, and may even be of opposite sexes. Conjoined or Siamese twins are the result of an embryological accident. They are formed in the sarne way as identical twins: a single egg fertilized by a single sperm starts to divide into two separate fertilized eggs. But the eggs don't completely separate; instead, they remain partially attached. RARELY BORN ALIVE Twins that are partially attached to one another are almost never born alive; they suffer the fate of most deformed embryos and are either spontaneously aborted or are stillborn. On more occasions, however, the connected embryos grow to full term and are born alive as "Siamese" twins. If the twins aren't extensively connected, surgeons may be able to separate them after birth. If the connection is extensive, with one twin having more organs than the other, when the two are separated one must die. In cases of nearly equal division, surgeons have to make the unenviable decision of deciding which baby will live. But in the case of Masha and Dasha Krivoshlyapova, born on January 4, 1950, the interconnection was so extensive, with so many vital organs intimately shared. that an operation to separate them would have killed them both. It was the unique way in which the twins were connected that caused Soviet scientists to take such an interest in them. FOUR ARMS, THREE LEGS Although Masha and dasha have three arms, they have only three legs. They stand on two of their legs - one controlled by Masha, one by Dasha (they were five before they learned how to walk while a third, vestigial leg remains in the air behind them. Their upper intestines are separated, but they share a single lower intestine and rectum. They have four kidneys and one bladder, and often disagree on when to urinate. They have a common reproductive system. SHARE BLOOD Because their circulatory systems are interconnected, the twins share each other's blood. Therefore, a bacterium or virus that enters one twin's bloodstream will soon be seen in the blood of her sister. Yet surprisingly, illness affects them each differently. "I don't like it when we are treated as one person," said Masha in a 1989 interview. "We have one medical record for the two of us although we have completely ditferent illnesses" Indeed. Dasha is short-sighte,. prone to colds and righthanded. Masha smokes occasionally, has a healthier constitution, but higher blood pressure than her sister, has good eyesight, and is left-handed. A MYSTERY The twins differing health patterns present a mystery. Why did one become ill with a childhood disease like the measles, for example, while the other did not? The measles "bug" was in both of their bodies in their collective bloodstream: why shouldn't both have gotten the measles? PASTEUR AND BERNARD The question just posed harks back to another time in the history of the biological sciences. In the late 18th century, Louis Pasteur, the French chemist, stated his belief that microorganisms like bacteria caused disease even in a healthy host. With this statement the famous French physiologist Claude Bernard agreed only partially. Bernard held that bacteria and other microorganisms could cause disease only if their host was a suitable candidate for illness. He stated that it was the soil, the terrain, or the constitution of the individual that determined whether or not the microorganism would grow. By themselves, he held, microorganisms could not cause disease: they need a suitable medium in which to thrive. THE DIFFERENCE Masha and Dasha shared most of their organ systems; they had a common circulatory system, digestive system, excretory system, lymphatic system, endocrine system, and skeletal system (they were joined at the hips). but they had separate spinal columns and skulls containing separate spinal cords and separate brains. This was the only important difference between the two girls: the fact that their brains and spinal cords were housed in separate skulls and spinal columns. NATURE'S LABORATORY It seems that in-crearing Masha and Dasha, nature's laboratory devised an experiment that no human researcher could ever duplicate. These extraordinary twins have afforded an invaluable lesson on the neurological basis of sickness and disease confirming that there is much more to "catching" a disease than simply breathing in germs; germs can make you sick if and only if your body provides them fertile ground to grow in, The fact is that we actually take in millions of germs with every breath. If germs in and of themselves caused diseases, everyone would be sick with all kinds of infections all the time. Chiropractors have long stressed that the state of your nervous system can determine whether you have high or low resistance to disease-and that this can determine whether you will remain healthy or become ill. And if you are suffering from disease, the health of your nervous system will play a decisive role in whether or not (and how rapidly) you will recover. Research has continued to affirm that a nervous system free from stress will help you deal physically and emotionally with life's ups and downs.

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