J Biol Regul Homeost Agents. 2013 Apr-Jun;27(2):595-602.
Conjoined twins have fascinated human mankind for a long time. Until recently, their description was limited to the dissection of non-viable cases, the description of external features and of bones by x-ray imaging. The introduction of ultrasonographic techniques gave the first in uterus images of conjoined twins, though the spatial resolution did not allow detailed descriptions. Subsequently, CT and MRI techniques allowed more precise definition of organs without any dissection, thus the need of formal interpretation of similar new images. As a matter of fact, few monstrosities have been studied by CT and MRI techniques. To this day very few cases still lack any CT/MRI documentation. Here we present a very rare type of cephalothoracopagus twins (joined at the head and the thorax). They have been accurately examined by CT and MRI imaging to study visceral structures. Pathophysiology and genetic aspects are also reviewed. These data offer precious details for accurate comprehension of imaging studies, and for theoretical studies concerning the information of several anatomical structures.
连体双胞胎长期以来一直吸引着人类。直到最近，对它们的描述还仅限于对非存活病例的解剖、外部特征的描述以及 X 射线成像的骨骼描述。超声技术的引入首次提供了子宫内连体双胞胎的图像，尽管空间分辨率不允许进行详细描述。随后，CT 和 MRI 技术允许在不进行任何解剖的情况下更精确地定义器官，因此需要对类似的新图像进行正式解释。事实上，很少有畸形儿接受 CT 和 MRI 技术的研究。直到今天，仍有极少数病例缺乏任何 CT/MRI 记录。在这里，我们展示了一种非常罕见的头胸腹联体双胞胎（头部和胸部相连）。它们已经通过 CT 和 MRI 成像进行了准确检查，以研究内脏结构。还回顾了病理生理学和遗传学方面。这些数据为准确理解影像学研究以及关于多个解剖结构信息的理论研究提供了宝贵的细节。
