Twins with two heads, one body in Brazil

Rare conjoined twins, with one body and two heads, were born in Para, northern Brazil on Monday. The babies were named Jesus and Emanuel, and they share all vital internal organs except their brains. The twins were rushed to Santa Casa de Misericodia Hospital, in the state capital Belem, for special care after their birth. They are doing well for now, and have already become famous!

Doctors at the hospital said that the babies who were born by cesarean section were in a stable condition, but that one of the babies was having respiratory trouble. It is difficult to imagine that one baby has breathing problems, but another baby sharing the same lungs doesn't. The doctor also mentioned that the mother had "breastfed both heads", and that their appetite was normal. Doctor Neila Dahas from the Misericodia Hospital noted that it would be "very difficult" to operate on the babies to resolve their conjoined position because the babies share one heart, the same lungs, and the same liver. They did say that it was too early to tell how the babies would develop in the future.

But Neila Dahas did say: "What we know statistically is that the children who undergo surgery and survive are the children who have less organs in common." Talk about stating the obvious! But what is very interesting is that some media outlets have referred to Jesus and Emanuel as "the twins", and others make statements like "the newborn is currently stable". So, is this one baby with two heads, or two babies with one body?

Personally, I think one body and two brains definitely make two distinct people. They might share every other organ in their body, but they certainly don't share a brain. And isn't a brain what makes humans tick? We wish the twins Jesus and Emanual all the best!