AI notes: After their deaths on January 17, 1874, the conjoined Siamese twins Chang and Eng Bunker were prepared for scientific examination and preservation. Their bodies, initially interred in Mount Airy, North Carolina, were exhumed on February 1, 1874, approximately fifteen days later, and injected with zinc chloride as part of the embalming process to prevent decomposition. Over the next several days, physicians from the College of Physicians of Philadelphia conducted a detailed autopsy, documenting the unique anatomy of the twins, including the shared liver and connecting tissues at the chest. While some sources note autopsy activity continuing through February 10–11, 1874, later references to February 12 likely relate to subsequent embalming or preparation for transport and display, though no primary source explicitly identifies it as a distinct re-embalming event. These procedures allowed the twins’ remains to be preserved for scientific study and contributed significantly to medical understanding of conjoined anatomy in the 19th century.
