Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume XI.djvu/784

 766 MONSTER bilicns in the centre of the moderate-sized con- necting process. They were born in 1811, were exhibited in most parts of Europe and the United States, and died, within a few hours of each other, in North Carolina, Jan. 17, 18V4; each was married, and had several chil- dren, none of whom were monsters. They were physiologically distinct, having different forms, strength, tastes, and dispositions ; their physical functions were performed separately; the sickness of one did not affect the other ; hence there could not have been any free in- terchange of circulations. In the connecting ensiform cartilage, the post-mortem examina- tion showed that the band contained four peritoneal pouches, two of which met and overlapped on the median line, and that their ENG. CHANG, / The Siamese Twins. V". Vena cava. V. P. Vena portae. a. Upper hepatic pouch of Chang, probably continuous during foetal life. b. Peritoneal or umbilical pouch of Eng. c. Lower peritoneal or umbilical pouch of Chang, rf, d. Connecting liver band, or tract of portal continuity, e. Lower border of band. /. Upper border of band. There was also an upper hepatic pouch from the liver of Eng, not represented, as it was not discovered till the organ was removed. livers and hepatic vessels communicated, though not freely, indicating that any attempt during life to separate them would probably have proved fatal; whether, had there been time and opportunity, the separation of the living from the dead would have been fatal, may ad- mit of doubt. Chang died first, probably of cerebral clot, during the night; when Eng awoke and found his brother dead, his fright and the consequent nervous shock, acting on an enfeebled heart, produced a fatal syncope. There was a region of common sensibility in the median line of the band. Though these lived to the age of 63 years, in the last named members of the group the anomaly is generally incompatible with extra-uterine life. Tribe II. comprises monsters in which the individuals are distinct at the pelvic extremity, but con- nected in the head and sometimes in the whole supra-umbilical region. In one family the bodies are united from the umbilicus upward, with the head more or less completely double, in some with the two faces directly opposite ; as far as known, this deformity is incompatible with life. In another family the trunks are joined above the umbilicus, with a single head bearing but few marks of duplicity, and with two or four thoracic limbs ; both these families occur in man, but the latter very rarely. Tribe III. includes such as have the head double, but the trunks more or less united into a single body and two lower extremities; sometimes the bodies are distinct from the umbilicus up- ward, with generally a rudimentary third lower limb ; in others the heads are united behind, but show two faces in front. In the parasitaires the smaller and less perfect individual may be at- tached near the umbilicus, or very far from it, and may be reduced to a mere head without body ; in some cases the monster seems a single body, with supernumerary jaws, por- tions of the head, or extremities; and in the least perfect of all the accessory growth is included within the principal body. The parasitic growth, from its small size, does not interfere with the birth, and such monsters have not only lived to be adults, but have become parents of well formed offspring. Most authors deny the existence of triple monsters, but Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire admits it, regarding the quadruple and quintu- ple cases as fabulous. Considering the whole number of births, mon- strosities are rare ; after man they are most common in the hog, ox, cat, sheep, dog, and chick. Many, if not most, monsters give no indication of anomalous formation in the course of gestation, and tbey are most fre- quently born of mothers in good health and who have previously had normal children ; females which bring forth twins have been found most liable to produce monsters, the separate amnions of each from contiguity favoring the confusion or blending of parts ; the birth is usually prema- ture, though sometimes long after the natural time. The hereditary transmission of mon- strosity is very rare, even when the repro- ductive functions are unimpaired. The female sex seems to predominate, taking the whole range of monsters. Monstrosity is more com- mon and extraordinary in the vegetable than in the animal kingdom, from the easier derange- ment and displacement of parts ; yet even here it is subject to and explicable by the laws of normal vegetable growth ; some botanists con- sider double flowers and other similar products arising from peculiar culture as monsters, and