Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1878-10-31
Human MOnstrOsity.
Philadelphia fines.

Philadelphia fines.
Prof. VIM. II. Paucoast, Surgeon
and Professor in Jefferson College, has
brought TO Philadelphia the wonderful
twins from st. BenoIt, Canada. They
arrived late on Saturday, and at once
were taken by their parents, escorted
by DIR. j. V. Shoemaker, of this city,
to the surgi ical class at the Philadelphia
Hospital. Here Prof. PancOast was o2-
Grating in the presence of some five
hundred students and crowd of doc
tors, who had gotten wind of the in.
tended examination of the twins.
Prof. Pant Oast put the twin baby on
he table. 1t appeared to be two ba
bies Joined together at the base Of the
trunk, with, however, but two legs,
two heads, two separate intelligences,
and four arms. The Professor made
+ few Introductory remarks on terat 10
gy, and referred briefly to the forma-
ton of the Siamese and the Carolina
twins. The parents are French Cana
dians, speaking no English, and the
mother appeared quite frightened by
the large audience. Prot. Pancoast,
however, calmed her, and then he
went on. He called attention to the
fact that, though the children were
called a mOnstrOsity, they were really
two pretty female infants, united at the
hips, and that there was nothing re-
peIlant in their appearance. He took
the ground that they were entities, two
separate brains Or intelligences. The
one on the left of the observer, Rose,
was hearty and strong, while that On
the right, NJ, rie, Mas not quite so ro-
bust. She Was frttful from teethiDg,
while Rose was bright, smiling and
happy.
Rose and Marie are the names of this
wonderfully close joined pair Of sisters
than can never know separation
Rose Mary would be the name taken
as one. A toy was handed Mary, she
smiled, took it, and played with it
Rose reached out her baby hand, 60
the toy, and also smiled and chuckled
Prof. PancOast then proceeded to show
that the children are separate to thu
edge of the ribs, with separate heads
separate arms, two to each, and separ.
ate hearts. AT the breast bone the DO
dies are fairly united, but the rest o
!, the organs are common to both. Rose
leg is u very little fatter than theone
: belonging to Marie, but both are O
: : equal length and perfectly formed. Th'
Professor continued to explain that
while the head, arms and thoraX, will
its contents, were separate, it wa
probable that the intestinal canal wa
$ Joined together, and that in all proba
! ! bility the bladder and womb are NOR
I. or less united, and they had but on
! common genitalia. In the science O
! diplotheratolOgy the st. Benoit twin
= would come under the first order o
! terata cdlididyma, which means sub
ject with more or less separation of th'
! ! brain and spinal cord. The genius il
: : that in which they are united at tn
! abdomen and pelvis, technically, lschi
opagus SymenetuS, and the species tn,
, three-footed, or Tripus, and as the bod.
: had union apparently of the ends o
: the sternum il should also be called al
Xypodidymul.
. Having fully explained the peculia
!, formation, the lecturer said that h.
: possessed the skeleton ofa similar spe
: cimen, which he now has in the ana
tomical museum of Jefferson Medica
: : College. 1t is very complete and per
I, I, feet. Another specimen reported by
: Prof. Horner, is in the museum of thu
: Pennsylvania University, but he saiC
? that the pair then before him were tht
: ! only Cnes that ever came into tht
! world alive, and that their chances o
living are quite as good as those o
/, children of the same age.