| From monster to twin reversed arterial perfusion: a history of acardiac twins. | |
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MedLine Citation:
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PMID: 20121538 Owner: NLM Status: MEDLINE |
Abstract/OtherAbstract:
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A human being born without heart and head, i.e., the acardius/acranius malformation, has been described since antiquity. Superstition and fear made it a mystical disorder, a sign of God's wrath. The inquisition ruled that acranic infants should not be baptized and located the soul in the brain. Acardia was not associated with twin gestation until the reports of Mery in 1720 and Winslow in 1740. In 1850, Meckel identified the pathogenetic mechanism as reversed perfusion due to large arterio-arterial and veno-venous anastomoses; he believed the heart would fail to develop or arrest during development, and the acardiac fetus would be maintained by arterial perfusion from the pump twin. In 1859, Claudius articulated that after normal initial development, the heart degenerates when reversed flow in the aorta leads to thrombosis. Today, it is assumed that both mechanisms may exist. With the advent of prenatal ultrasound diagnosis and radiofrequency ablation of the acardiac twin's circulation, it became possible to save the pump twin. |
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Authors:
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Michael Obladen |
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Publication Detail:
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Type: Historical Article; Journal Article |
Journal Detail:
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Title: Journal of perinatal medicine Volume: 38 ISSN: 1619-3997 ISO Abbreviation: J Perinat Med Publication Date: 2010 May |
Date Detail:
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Created Date: 2010-05-06 Completed Date: 2010-06-10 Revised Date: - |
Medline Journal Info:
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Nlm Unique ID: 0361031 Medline TA: J Perinat Med Country: Germany |
Other Details:
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Languages: eng Pagination: 247-53 Citation Subset: IM |
Affiliation:
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Department of Neonatology, Charit? University Medicine, Berlin, Germany. michael.obladen@charite.de |
Export Citation:
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| MeSH Terms | |
Descriptor/Qualifier:
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Female Fetofetal Transfusion / complications, history*, therapy Head / abnormalities* Heart Defects, Congenital / history* History, 15th Century History, 16th Century History, 17th Century History, 18th Century History, 19th Century History, 20th Century History, Medieval Humans Infant, Newborn Male Pregnancy Ultrasonography, Prenatal / history |
From MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine
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