The XO Directory

Born on March 7, 1990, Abby and Brittany Hensel of Minnesota, USA are two extraordinary conjoined twins. They have two spines and separate half-sacrums, which converge distally within a slightly broad pelvis. They also have two separate hearts, one in each side of the chest, and each has it’s own set of lungs. They each control and sense their corresponding arm and leg. At birth, they had a third arm but was a useless and so it was removed when they were young.



Abby and Brittany is the only surviving dicephalus twins in the world today. Though they are conjoined, the girls has act independently of each other that when they applied for their driver's license, each one took the test, and passed. But they can also act amazingly as one. They can walk, run, ride a bicycle and a lot more a single person do.

Here's a documentary video of the girls. This was done on their 16th birthday.

In conversation, they are clearly distinct persons, with distinct likes and dislikes. Despite sharing a body, the twins' preferences in food, clothing color, etc. differ. Some of their clothes are altered by their seamstress so that they have two separate necklines in order to emphasize their individuality. They will usually have separate meals, but sometimes will share a single meal for the sake of convenience (e.g., each takes a bite of the same hamburger). Abigail is better at mathematics and Brittany is better at writing.

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