Report of an autopsy on the bodies of Chang and Eng Bunker, commonly known as the Siamese twins

audiobook

Report of an autopsy on the bodies of Chang and Eng Bunker, commonly known as the Siamese twins

by Harrison Allen

EN·~58 minutes·1 chapter

Chapters

1 total

Transcriber’s note:

58:11

Description

This listening experience offers a rare glimpse into the world of the 19th‑century figures known as Chang and Eng, the famous Siamese twins. The narrator, a professor of comparative anatomy, blends scholarly observation with vivid anecdotes about the brothers’ daily lives—farm work, marriage, and the challenges of sharing a body. Listeners learn how the twins navigated ordinary responsibilities, from plowing fields to raising large families, while their unusual physiology fascinated both medical professionals and the public.

The account then shifts to the final days of the twins, chronicling a sudden illness that leads to their deaths and the subsequent post‑mortem examination. Detailed descriptions of their shared organ structure, the circumstances surrounding Chang’s sudden collapse, and Eng’s struggling final moments unfold in an almost journal‑like style. By the end of the episode, the autopsy report provides a clinical window into the twins’ anatomy, leaving listeners with a deeper appreciation for the intersection of science, history, and human resilience.

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Details

Language

en

Duration

~58 minutes (55K characters)

Publisher of text edition

Project Gutenberg

Original publisher

United States: Collins, 1875.

Credits

deaurider, Guus Snijders and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images generously made available by The Internet Archive)

Release date

May 25, 2022

Rights

Public domain in the USA.

About the author

Harrison Allen

Harrison Allen

1841–1897

A pioneering American anatomist and surgeon, he brought together medicine, zoology, and teaching in a career that stretched from the Civil War to the University of Pennsylvania. His writing reflects both a practicing physician’s precision and a naturalist’s curiosity about the human body.

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