How do conjoined twins even happen? How does the body work in those cases?

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I find it wild that the body can still function in those rare cases. Like I assume that there’s a great deal of stress on the heart and stomach etc since they have to support two “minds”? When the conjoined twins eat, do the two sources of food intake end up in the same stomach? I also know a case where the two shared a same brain, and they knew each other’s thoughts.

Also, I’m curious if even more extreme cases of conjoined triplets are possible or have happened.

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Anonymous 0 Comments

It depends on how they are conjoined. There are some types where parts of the digestive system are shared, some where they aren’t. Some will have two hearts, some a shared heart.

No one is quite sure how they happen, but there are theories.

The simplest answer for how the body works is that for the most part it doesn’t. Most conjoined twins are stillborn or die shortly after birth.

Generally the more they share the less likely they are to survive, but as with all of biology there are exceptions.

Triplets are possibly but extremely rare (confirmed cases in the single digits).

The [Wikipedia page](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conjoined_twins) is probably a good place to start further reading, particularly the “Types” section, and the “Notable people” one.

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