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by Alice Domurat Dreger, PhD, 198 pp, $22.95, ISBN 0-674-01294-1, Cambridge, Mass, Harvard University Press, 2004.

Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med. 2005;159:92-93.

	Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text and any section headings.

"To what extent are conjoined twins abnormal?"

This astonishing question leads the reader into a fascinating and provocative examination of how our preconceived notions of normalcy can lead to questionable decisions concerning patient care. The author is a historian of medicine who is best known for her effective advocacy on behalf of patients with intersex issues. Her books on the topic^1-2 document many tragic examples of inappropriate management decisions concerning infants born with ambiguous genitalia.

In this work, Dr Dreger uses conjoined twinning as a paradigm for the larger problem of how we deal with the issue of unusual anatomy. She contends that society and the medical profession are sometimes too quick to assume that "unusual," a merely statistical term, necessarily means "abnormal" in the more general sense. Our culture places excessive emphasis on physical appearance, which drives large sections of our economy and dominates the practice of many physicians . . . [Full Text of this Article]

AUTHOR INFORMATION

J. Bruce Beckwith, MD, Reviewer