Letters to the Editor

Abstract

Extract

Madam:— Thoracopagy, a condition in which equal and symmetrical twins are conjoined in or near their sternal regions ⁽³⁾ and have hepatic and variable cardiac and gastrointestinal fusions, ⁽⁶⁾ has been an uncommon cause of perinatal ovine mortalities. ^{(2) (4) (8)} Sheep are not mentioned in recent summaries of literature on detailed autopsy findings in thoracopagy. ^{(1) (9)} One other report ⁽¹⁰⁾ describes a pair of lambs with a common thorax and abdomen that contained disparate hearts and lungs and a single set of abdominal organs. We report autopsy findings in a pair of thoracopagus twin female lambs removed from a full-mouth Romney x Lincoln ewe which had been mated to a Lincoln ram.