![A stuffed chick with two beaks and three eyes](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/42/A_stuffed_chick_with_two_beaks_and_three_eyes.jpg)
Diprosopus ( el, διπρόσωπος, "two-faced", from , , "two" and ,
euter "face", "person"; with
Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
ending), also known as craniofacial duplication (cranio- from Greek , "skull", the other parts Latin), is an extremely rare
congenital disorder
A birth defect, also known as a congenital disorder, is an abnormal condition that is present at birth regardless of its cause. Birth defects may result in disabilities that may be physical, intellectual, or developmental. The disabilities ca ...
whereby parts (accessories) or all of the face are duplicated on the head.
[Definition of diprosopus]
at MedicineNet. Accessed 8 January 2006.['Miracle baby' is feted in India]
a
BBC News
Accessed 10 April 2008.
Development
Although classically considered conjoined twinning (which it resembles), diprosopus is not normally due to the fusion or incomplete separation of two embryos. It is the result of abnormal activity by the protein
SHH (sonic hedgehog).
(The name of this protein was inspired by the
Sonic the Hedgehog video game character and is part of an idiosyncratic naming tradition in molecular biology research.)
SHH and its corresponding genes have been found to play an important role in signaling craniofacial patterning during embryonic development. Among other things, SHH governs the width of facial features. In excess it leads to widening of facial features and to duplication of facial structures.
The greater the widening, the more structures are duplicated, often in a mirror image form. This has been demonstrated in the laboratory by introducing pellets of the SHH protein into chicken embryos, resulting in chickens with duplicate beaks. Inadequate amounts of that protein lead to opposite conditions such as
cyclopia
Cyclopia (named after the Greek mythology character cyclopes) is the most extreme form of holoprosencephaly and is a congenital disorder (birth defect) characterized by the failure of the embryonic prosencephalon to properly divide the orbits of ...
where facial features are insufficiently developed.
Healthy brain development is also dependent on the signaling function of SHH.
[Sonic Hedgehog shapes the brain](_blank)
ScienceDaily
13 March 2001.
During embryonic development, SHH directs embryonic cells to organize in specific areas that later become specialized neural tissues, thus controlling the size and shape of brain structures.
Occurrences
Diprosopus often occurs in combination with other
congenital disorder
A birth defect, also known as a congenital disorder, is an abnormal condition that is present at birth regardless of its cause. Birth defects may result in disabilities that may be physical, intellectual, or developmental. The disabilities ca ...
s, particularly
anencephaly
Anencephaly is the absence of a major portion of the brain, skull, and scalp that occurs during embryonic development. It is a cephalic disorder that results from a neural tube defect that occurs when the rostral (head) end of the neural tube ...
,
neural tube defect
Neural tube defects (NTDs) are a group of birth defects in which an opening in the spine or cranium remains from early in human development. In the third week of pregnancy called gastrulation, specialized cells on the dorsal side of the embryo b ...
and
cardiac malformations. When present, the brain may show abnormalities ranging from partial to complete duplication of brain structures, and/or underdevelopment of brain tissues.
Humans
Most human infants with diprosopus are stillborn. Known instances of humans with diprosopus surviving for longer than minutes to hours past birth are very rare; only a few are recorded. In 2002 and 2003, two living male infants with partial diprosopus were described in the medical literature in separate case reports.
One infant was born with duplication of the nose and the cerebral frontal lobes, two widely spaced eyes, a small, underdeveloped central eye socket, and a large, asymmetric mouth. The other infant was born with duplication of the upper and lower jaw, two tongues arising from the same base,
cleft palate
A cleft lip contains an opening in the upper lip that may extend into the nose. The opening may be on one side, both sides, or in the middle. A cleft palate occurs when the palate (the roof of the mouth) contains an opening into the nose. The ...
, a slightly divided tip of the nose, and two widely spaced eyes, as well as absence of the
corpus callosum
The corpus callosum (Latin for "tough body"), also callosal commissure, is a wide, thick nerve tract, consisting of a flat bundle of commissural fibers, beneath the cerebral cortex in the brain. The corpus callosum is only found in placental m ...
, duplication of the pituitary gland and stalk, and abnormalities in the midbrain. Because they were born with a milder, partial form of diprosopus, both infants were considered candidates for surgical correction of their abnormal facial features.
Spanish case
![Les écarts de la nature page37](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/ab/Les_%C3%A9carts_de_la_nature_page37.jpg)
In January 1775, a
Spanish
Spanish might refer to:
* Items from or related to Spain:
**Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain
**Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries
**Spanish cuisine
Other places
* Spanish, Ontario, Can ...
family gave birth to a girl with diprosopus. She had 3 eyes (one a combination of 2), 2 noses, 2 mouths, and 3 chins. The child was taken on tour from village to village, and gained much attention in Spain and neighboring countries. Her case is mentioned in Nicolas-François and Geneviève Regnault's ''Les écarts de la nature'', published that year. Her full lifespan is unknown, but is mentioned to still be alive in French publications as late as 1777.
Lali Singh
Lali Singh (10 March – 10 May 2008)
[ was born to Sushma and Vinod Singh in Saini, Sunpura Sohanpur village, near ]Delhi
Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, primarily its western or right bank, Delhi shares borders w ...
; the birth was delayed by dystocia
Obstructed labour, also known as labour dystocia, is the baby not exiting the pelvis because it is physically block during childbirth although the uterus contracts normally. Complications for the baby include not getting enough oxygen which may ...
caused by her large head, and her birth in a hospital was facilitated by her mother's receiving an episiotomy
Episiotomy, also known as perineotomy, is a surgical incision of the perineum and the posterior vaginal wall generally done by a midwife or obstetrician. Episiotomy is usually performed during second stage of labor to quickly enlarge the opening ...
. She was one of the very few infants with diprosopus to survive well past birth, and may have been the only known living individual with complete facial duplication. Her facial features included two pairs of eyes, two noses, and two mouths (but only one pair of ears). She was seen as the reincarnation of the goddess Durga
Durga ( sa, दुर्गा, ) is a major Hindu goddess, worshipped as a principal aspect of the mother goddess Mahadevi. She is associated with protection, strength, motherhood, destruction, and wars.
Durga's legend centres around c ...
, who is sometimes depicted with many limbs and eyes.
Sushma and Vinod Singh declined an offer from local doctors to evaluate their daughter through CT or MRI
Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is a medical imaging technique used in radiology to form pictures of the anatomy and the physiological processes of the body. MRI scanners use strong magnetic fields, magnetic field gradients, and radio waves ...
scanning. Without diagnostic imaging, it was not possible to know the full extent to which the child's condition might have affected her brain and other vital structures in her head and neck. Thus, any estimation of her ability to thrive or even survive could be only speculative, though Lali's family described her as functioning normally. It is also unknown whether neurosurgeons or craniofacial surgeons, if consulted, would have had feasible solutions to offer with respect to corrective surgery. A local doctor told reporters that the baby should be considered a healthy child who currently was living a normal life, a previously unknown occurrence among sufferers of the disorder.
Lali's two middle eyes suffered from corneal opacity
The human cornea is a transparent membrane which allows light to pass through it. The word corneal opacification literally means loss of normal transparency of cornea. The term corneal opacity is used particularly for the loss of transparency of c ...
due to abnormal anatomy of the facial muscles, which prevented her from properly closing those eyes; initially, this was wrongly blamed on camera flash
A flash is a device used in photography that produces a brief burst of light (typically lasting 1/1000 to 1/200 of a second) at a color temperature of about 5500 K to help illuminate a scene. A major purpose of a flash is to illuminate a ...
es.
A cleft palate caused difficulty in her feeding under village conditions. A poor diet of bottle-fed sugar solution and diluted milk, allowed to drip down her throat, as she could not suck properly due to her cleft palate, weakened her condition, and vomiting and infection ensued. Admission to hospital was delayed by discussion (including taking her back home from hospital) among her extended family
An extended family is a family that extends beyond the nuclear family of parents and their children to include aunts, uncles, grandparents, cousins or other relatives, all living nearby or in the same household. Particular forms include the stem ...
and her village's headman. Finally, her parents, alarmed at her illness and dehydration
In physiology, dehydration is a lack of total body water, with an accompanying disruption of metabolic processes. It occurs when free water loss exceeds free water intake, usually due to exercise, disease, or high environmental temperature. Mil ...
, defied her other relatives and took her back to hospital, where under proper medical treatment including antibiotic and a saline drip
Intravenous therapy (abbreviated as IV therapy) is a medical technique that administers fluids, medications and nutrients directly into a person's vein. The intravenous route of administration is commonly used for rehydration or to provide nutrie ...
she started to improve, stopped vomiting, started drinking milk and defecating normally. However, six hours later, at two months old to the day, she died of a heart attack
A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which may tr ...
. She was buried in her village, as is usual in Hinduism with children who die very young. Later a temple
A temple (from the Latin ) is a building reserved for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. Religions which erect temples include Christianity (whose temples are typically called churches), Hinduism (whose temples ...
was built at the village in her memory.
Faith and Hope Howie
Faith Daisy and Hope Alice Howie (8 May – 27 May 2014) were born in Sydney
Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...
, Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
, to parents Simon Howie and Renee Young. Faith and Hope shared one body and skull, but had complete duplication of the facial features, as well as duplication of the brain; both brains joined to one brain stem. Young and Howie had learned at nineteen weeks gestation of their children's condition, but opted not to terminate the pregnancy. The children were born six weeks prematurely and appeared to be doing well, able to breathe unaided several days after their birth, and they were observed to sleep and cry at different times. They died nineteen days following their birth due to unknown causes, although some sources indicated that the girls died following an operation for unknown reasons.
Other animals
Janus, a goat with two faces on one body, survived from April 5 to May 5, 2020 in Wittenberg, Wisconsin
Wittenberg is a village in Shawano County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 1,081 at the 2010 census. The village is located within the Town of Wittenberg.
History
In 1886, the Wittenberg Indian School was established by the Norwegi ...
.
Few two-faced animals have survived due to associated internal organ
In biology, an organ is a collection of tissues joined in a structural unit to serve a common function. In the hierarchy of life, an organ lies between tissue and an organ system. Tissues are formed from same type cells to act together in a f ...
abnormalities and brain abnormalities. One of the most famous was Ditto
DITTO is a company that sells software that aids eyewear companies sell their products online using virtual fitting. Originally DITTO was a retailer that sold designer prescription eyeglasses and sunglasses. The company is based in San Francisco, ...
, a pig. Ditto was raised to adulthood, but died of pneumonia
Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of productive or dry cough, chest pain, fever, and difficulty breathing. The severity ...
caused by food inhalation when breathing through one muzzle while eating with the other.
Cats with the condition are known as ' Janus cats', after the Roman god. In July 2006, a six-year-old male Janus cat called "Frank and Louie
Frank and Louie, sometimes referred to as Frankenlouie (September 8, 1999 – December 4, 2014), was a diprosopus (also known as "janus" or "two-faced") cat known for his unusual longevity. He was named by the ''Guinness Book of World Records'' as ...
" from Millbury, Massachusetts
Millbury, officially the Town of Millbury, is a town in Worcester County, Massachusetts. Located within Blackstone Valley, the population in Millbury was 13,831 at the 2020 United States Census.
History
Millbury was first settled by Europea ...
, USA, received publicity. In their case, only one esophagus
The esophagus ( American English) or oesophagus (British English; both ), non-technically known also as the food pipe or gullet, is an organ in vertebrates through which food passes, aided by peristaltic contractions, from the pharynx to ...
(and possibly only one trachea
The trachea, also known as the windpipe, is a cartilaginous tube that connects the larynx to the bronchi of the lungs, allowing the passage of air, and so is present in almost all air- breathing animals with lungs. The trachea extends from the ...
) were functional; this aided survival. In September 2011, when Frank and Louie were twelve years old, it was announced that they would appear in the 2012 Guinness Book of World Records as the longest-surviving Janus cat on record. In 2014, Frank and Louie died at the age of fifteen.
See also
*Conjoined twins
Conjoined twins – sometimes popularly referred to as Siamese twins – are twins joined ''Uterus, in utero''. A very rare phenomenon, the occurrence is estimated to range from 1 in 49,000 births to 1 in 189,000 births, with a somewhat higher in ...
*Craniopagus parasiticus
Craniopagus parasiticus is an extremely rare type of parasitic twinning occurring in about 2 to 3 of 5,000,000 births. In craniopagus parasiticus, a parasitic twin head with an undeveloped body is attached to the head of a developed twin. Fewer t ...
*Cyclopia
Cyclopia (named after the Greek mythology character cyclopes) is the most extreme form of holoprosencephaly and is a congenital disorder (birth defect) characterized by the failure of the embryonic prosencephalon to properly divide the orbits of ...
*Durga
Durga ( sa, दुर्गा, ) is a major Hindu goddess, worshipped as a principal aspect of the mother goddess Mahadevi. She is associated with protection, strength, motherhood, destruction, and wars.
Durga's legend centres around c ...
, a three-eyed Hindu goddess
*Edward Mordake
Edward Mordake (sometimes spelled Mordrake) is the apocryphal subject of an urban legend who was born in the 19th century as the heir to an English peerage with a face at the back of his head. According to legend, the face could whisper, laugh or ...
, a disputed story of a 19th-century man with a face on the back of his head
*Futakuchi-onna
A is a type of yōkai or Japanese monster. They are characterized by their two mouths – a normal one located on her face and a second one on the back of the head beneath the hair. There, the woman's skull splits apart, forming lips, teeth ...
, a female Japanese ''yōkai
are a class of supernatural entities and spirits in Japanese folklore. The word is composed of the kanji for "attractive; calamity" and "apparition; mystery; suspicious." are also referred to as , or . Despite often being translated as suc ...
'' with mouth on back of her head/hair
* Janus, a Roman god with two faces
*''Kara Mia
''Kara Mia'' is a 2019 Philippine television drama fantasy series broadcast by GMA Network. Directed by Dominic Zapata, it stars Barbie Forteza and Mika dela Cruz in the title role. It premiered on February 18, 2019 on the network's Telebabad ...
'', a Philippine TV series that tells the story of a young woman with two faces divided in one body.
*Polycephaly
Polycephaly is the condition of having more than one head. The term is derived from the Greek stems ''poly'' (Greek: "πολύ") meaning "many" and ''kephalē'' (Greek: "κεφαλή") meaning "head". A polycephalic organism may be thought o ...
References
External links
*
*
*
‘Sonic Hedgehog’ sounded funny, at first
New York Times, 12 November 2006.
explanation of the discovery and naming of the sonic hedgehog gene
Page for sonic hedgehog homolog (SHH)
a
The Human Genome Organisation (HUGO)
at Channel4000
Two-faced kitten shocks owner, veterinarian
at OregonNews.com
Two-faced cat sets record as oldest living "Janus" cat
at Reuters
diprosopus kitten
diprosopus piglet
diprosopus calf
Rescue Kitten Was Born With Two Face Who Rejected By Her Cat Mom
diprosopus kitten
Baby born with 2 faces in north India, villagers worship her as a goddess
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Baby with 2 faces born in north India
MSNBC
Image:Diprosopus
{{Authority control
Congenital disorders
Facial features