Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume XI.djvu/783

 MONSTER 765 their own organs, having a heart, lungs, almost all the digestive organs, and a portion at least of the head, most of the body remaining sym- metrical and nearly normal. This order con- tains four subdivisions or tribes : I., in which the limbs are modified by deficient development or by fusion, or are absent ; II., in which the viscera of the trunk are more or less seriously displaced and external, the limbs normal, in- capable of extra-uterine life ; III., in which the principal anomalies are in the cranium and brain, the modifications of the face and limbs being of secondary importance ; the brain is leforrned, incomplete, partially or wholly out- side the cranial cavity, or even entirely absent, with corresponding deficiency in the arch of the skull ; this includes an extensive series both in man and animals, among others the so- called anencephalous fo3tuses, all incapable of life beyond a few hours or perhaps days ; in some the spinal canal is largely open, and the spinal cord as well as the brain absent ; IV., in rhich the face is more deformed than the cra- nium, the nasal apparatus being atrophied or displaced, bringing the eyes near together, or the central region of the face so deficient that the ears are joined on the median line ; ris includes the one-eyed monsters, like the julous Polyphemus, and rhinencephalous f O3tuses ; all these die speedily from the imper- fection of the brain. B. Omphalosites, living merely vegetative life ceasing with the sepa- ition from the parent, many of the organs being absent and the existing ones very imper- fect with abnormal and unsymmetrical forms ; lese include the parencephalous and acepha- >us foetuses, the former having some traces of cranium, but no heart sufficient to circulate blood, and the latter destitute of head except the merest rudiments, often having neither neck nor chest, and but few of the abdominal organs ; they never reach the full term of ges- tation. 0. Parasites, including the imperfect products of conception commonly called moles ; they are irregular in form, composed princi- pally of bones, teeth, hairs, and fat, having no umbilical cord, and implanted directly on the parent organs, where they live a vegetative and parasitic life ; in most cases these appear to be a deformed and abnormally developed placenta, with a few remains of the prematurely dead embryo ; they have been found attached to the uterus and the ovaries, and the gestation has usually been much prolonged, even to years, some of the second teeth having been seen in their substance. In the second class, or that of ipound monsters, the double ones he divides ito autositaires, in which the two individuals >resent the same degree of development, each laving an equal share in the life common to ' :>th, a union of two autosites ; and parasi- ires, composed of two very unequal or dis- similar individuals, one complete and the oth- imperfect, and the latter capable of living mly at the expense of the former. The tribes " the autositaires are : I. That in which the individuals are united only in a single region, the duplicity being complete in every other part. This tribe is naturally subdivided into two families, according as the umbilicus is double or single; in the former belong the double monsters united by any portion of the trunk or head, like the famous Hungarian sis- ters, Helen and Judith, joined back to back by the thighs and loins; these were born-in 1701, and lived to their 22d year; they had neither the same temperament nor character, and Helen was larger, better looking, more active, intelligent, and gentle than her sister; they were very fond of each other, performed some physiological acts in common and others sepa- rately, and were sick and died together. Two black children, called the Carolina sisters, Christina and Millie, united by the lower part of the backs, have been exhibited in various parts of this country and Europe; in 1869, when they were 18 years old, they were appa- rently in perfect health. A full description of them is given in the " Boston Medical and Sur- gical Journal " for July 8, 1869, from which it appears that the hips are so far separated that on one side two fingers can be passed in be- tween them, there being only a crease on the other side. The call to evacuate the bowels and bladder is simultaneous, and the intestines must therefore unite not far above their ter- mination; there is a single anus and rectum between the anterior limbs, and the two ure- thra! orifices and vaginse open into a common vulva. The mammary development is good, though the chests are considerably deformed from spinal curvature; menstruation is regu- lar. If hunger and thirst be felt in both at the same time, it must be through nervous connections. They are tw"o individuals, psy- chologically, morally, and legally ; one may be awake and the other asleep; their general health is good, the weight being 170 Ibs., about equally divided between them; their expression is cheerful, manners agreeable, and intelligence above the average; they sing to- gether with good effect. They are inclined to rest on the back legs, and walk upon these, or upon all four, moving sidewise; the front legs are a little the shortest, from the elevation of the front hips from spinal curvature ; they can walk rapidly, and even waltz. They are united by the sacrum, and probably by the low- er lumbar vertebrae; both feel a touch upon the lower limbs, indicating that the sensory nerves, from the posterior columns, mingle at the lower part of the spine ; but the motor nerves, from the anterior columns, are so dis- tinct that one cannot move the limbs of the other. (See Annales cPhygiene publique, Paris, April, 1874.) To the family with a single um- bilicus belong such as are joined in the hypo- gastric and sternal regions, front and sides of thorax, and sometimes even by the neck and jaws. Among those united by the xiphoid re- gion of the sternum were the Siamese twin brothers, Chang and Eng, having a single urn-