Abby and Brittany Hensel, conjoined twins who shot to fame on reality TV decades ago, have finally revealed how their partially-shared body works.
The twins, 34, were born with dicephalic parapagus, where two heads are attached to a single body, with each twin having her own brain, heart, and other organs.
Their two brains and nervous systems are perfectly coordinated. They can write, eat, run, and drive a car, acting both independently and in perfect sync.
They shared a video explanation with their 300,000 TikTok followers, showing the structure of their conjoined bodies, which left fans stunned.
They have unique upper body areas— two brains, two spinal cords, and two hearts—that are part of the same overall system.
For instance, their two hearts are part of a shared circulatory system including the same veins and arteries, meaning that if one heart malfunctions, it could affect the blood flow and pressure in the other. If one heart were to fail, the other might have to compensate for changes in circulation, which could put extra strain on it.
Each twin controls the arm and leg on her respective side, with Abby controlling the right and Brittany controlling the left.
Despite this division, their movements are highly coordinated thanks to the remarkable cooperation between their distinct brains and nervous systems.
Each twin also has two lungs, two esophagi, two stomachs, and a single shared liver and small intestine.
Brittany and Abby, shown at Abby’s wedding, have distinct upper bodies with two brains, two hearts, and four lungs. Each twin has her own digestive system and stomach, so if one twin is hungry, the other may not be
The twins have unique upper body areas— two brains, two spinal cords, and two hearts—that are part of the same overall system
The twins, now teachers in Minnesota, first captured national attention when they appeared on the Oprah Winfrey Show in 1996 when they were six.
The Hensel twins are the rarest conjoined twins, resulting from a single fertilized egg failing to fully separate in the womb.
Just one set of twins in every 40,000 is born connected in some way to each other, and only one per cent of those survive beyond the first year.
They could play basketball and softball in school and got driver’s licenses when they were 16. Abby controls the pedals while Brittany controls the blinkers, and they both steer.
Though they have two separate brains, they’re not entirely isolated from each other.
Thanks to the shared spinal cord, their nervous systems can communicate, allowing their distinct brains to exchange information and coordinate the body’s movements.
The narrator in the video they posted said: ‘For activities requiring both arms, such as holding objects, typing on a keyboard or steering a car, they rely on constant cooperation and communication.
‘They’re able to perform these tasks smoothly thanks to the remarkable synchronization between their two brains and nervous systems.’
Each twin has two lungs (two partially fused), two stomachs, two gallbladders, three kidneys, one liver, one small intestine, one large intestine, one pelvis, one bladder, one set of reproductive organs
Because they have separate stomachs, the twins have different appetites. If Abby is hungry, that doesn’t necessarily mean that Brittany is too
Their two stomachs and esophagi operate independently, so each twin’s appetite differs.
The food they eat travels through each twin’s esophagus and enters each stomach, feeding nutrients into large and small intestines.
They share one slightly elongated liver that is larger than average to meet the needs of both bodies, which join together at the belly button.
The twins have a single set of reproductive organs but three kidneys—one on Abby’s side and two on Brittany’s. This adaptation allows the kidneys to filter waste products from the blood effectively despite a shared urinary system.
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The twins had a third arm removed when they were babies and have lived an overall normal life.
Abby said in 2007: ‘We never wish we were separated because then we wouldn’t get to do the things that we do now — like play softball, run, and do sports.’
Abby married nurse and Army Veteran Joshua Bowling in 2021, and both women want to be moms.
Abby and Brittany said in 2007 that they had never wished to be separated ‘because then we wouldn’t get to do the things that we do now — like play softball, run, and do sports.’
Their mother said in a documentary: ‘[It] is probably something that could work because those organs do work for them.’
Abby is now stepmother to Joshua’s daughter Isabella, but has sparked pregnancy rumors of her own after posting a video showing a series of ‘breaking news’ headlines.
The final headline revealed: ‘Married and baby on the way.’
The twins have not confirmed they are pregnant, though.
