Identical Twins

Identical Twins

With identical twins, one egg (zygote) from the mother is fertilized by one sperm from the father, and then very early in development the embryo splits and two fetuses grow. Spontaneous division of the zygote into two embryos is not considered to be a hereditary trait, but rather a spontaneous or random event.

If the zygote splits very early (in the first 2 days after fertilization) they may develop separate placentas (chorion) and separate sacs (amnion). These are called dichorionic, diamniotic (or 'di/di') twins.  While all fraternal twins are 'di/di', this occurs 20 - 30% of the time in identical twins.

Most of the time in identical twins the zygote will split after 2 days, resulting in a shared placenta, but two separate sacs. These are called monochorionic, diamniotic ('mono/di') twins.These twins are very similar genetically, and share a single afterbirth.
Very occasionally, twins will also share the same sac (fluid cavity). In about 1% of identical twins the splitting occurs late enough to result in both a shared placenta and a shared sac. These are called monochorionic, monoamniotic ('mono/mono') twins.
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