Monocephalus thoracopagus conjoined twins in a goat

Document Type : Short communication

Authors

• Bahador Shojaei ¹
• Nadia Nadimi ¹
• Salar Esmaeilzade ²

¹ Shahid Bahonar University of Kerman

² Shiraz University

10.22067/veterinary.v7i1.41130

Abstract

Monocephalus thoracopagus is a kind of attached symmetrical twin in which two nearly complete individuals joined front-to-front in the thoracic region with a single head, fused chests, one or two hearts and two lower bodies. A died female kid goat with one head, four ears, four paired limbs and two more or less complete body was referred to the Veterinary Faculty of the Shahid Bahonar University of Kerman. Detailed dissection was done on it and the progress of the duplication process of the internal organs was studied precisely. In the presented case, the way of the articulation of the ribs to the sterna and the progress of the duplication process in the alimentary canal can support the Spencer's spherical theory, saying that “a group of conjoined twins resulting from the union of two embryonic discs (or incomplete fission in one disc) over a common yolk sac”.

Keywords

• goat
• monocephalus
• thoracopagus
• congenital
• duplication

20.1001.1.2008465.2015.7.1.7.8

Main Subjects

• Small animal internal medicine

---

References

Abt, D.A., Croshaw, J.E. and Hare, W.C.D. (1962) Monocephalus dipygus parasiticus and other anomalies in a calf. Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association 141, 1068–1072.

Antoine, D., Murugavel, k., Alphonse, R.M.D., Ramalingam, S. and Thandavamurthy, C. (1997) Monocephalus dipygus monster in a buffalo—a case report. Indian Journal of Animal Reproduction 18, 166.

Cazabon, E.P.I. and Adogwa, A.O. (2003) A case of cephalothoracopagus in sheep in Trinidad and Tobago. Canadian Veterinary Journal 44, 56-58.

Corbera, J.A., Arencibia, A., Morales , I. and Gutierrez C. (2005) Congenital Duplication of the Caudal Region (Monocephalus Dipygus) in a Kid Goat. Anatomia Histologia Embryologia 34, 61–63.

Dennis, S.M. (1975) Embryonic duplications in sheep. Australian Veterinary Journal 51, 83-87.

Doijode, S.V., Thorat, N.H., Markandeya, N.M. and Mamde, C.S. (1992) Monocephalus dipygus conjoined twin lamb. Indian Journal of Animal Reproductin 13, 206.

Hiraga, T. and Dennis, S.M. (1993) Cogenital duplication. Veterinary clinics of north America 9, 145- 161.

Mitra, M., Basak, D.N. and Chakrabarti, A. (1994) Monocephalus thoracopagus tetrapus tetrabrachius monster in a Black Bengal goat. Indian Veterinary Journal 71, 177-178.

Nottidge, H.O., Omobowale, T.O., Olopade, J.O., Oladiran, O.O. and Ajala, O.O. (2007). A case of craniothoracopagus (monocephalus thoracopagus tetrabrachius) in a dog. Anatomia Histologia Embryologia 36, 179-181.

Potena, A. (1965) A case of a double monster in the bovine species. (Syncephalus, Thoracophagous, Diprosopus, Triophthalmos). Acta Medica Veterinaria 11, 359-371.

Roberts, S.J. (1986) Veterinary obstetrics and genital diseases (theriogenology). Ann Arbor, MI, Edwards Brothers, p 79.

Sekeles, E. (1985) Posterior duplication (cephalothoracopagus syncephalus) in the cat. Case, review and embryogenesis. Zentralbl Veterinarmed A. 32,793-799.

Shojaei, B., Kheirandish, R. and Hasanzade, M. (2010). Monocephalus tetrapus dibrachius in a calf. Comparative Clinical Pathology 19, 511–513.

Shojaei, B., Mohebbi, M. and Hashemnia, Sh. (2012) Caudal duplication (monocephalus tripus dibrachius) in a kid goat. European Journal of Anatomy 16, 206-211.

Spencer, R. (1992) Conjoined twins: theoretical embryologic basis. Teratology 45, 591-602.

Spencer, R. (2000) Theoretical and Analytical Embryology of Conjoined Twins. Embryogenesis in Clinical Anatomy 13, 36–53.

Thakur, S.B. (1988). Dipygus monstrosity in a calf. Indian Vetrerinary Journal 65, 440.