Sometimes a mother gives birth to two, three or even four babies at once. They are sometimes called twins, and sometimes - twins or triplets, respectively. What is the difference between twins and twins?
Concept in medicine
First of all, in traditional medicine, such concepts as "twins" and "triplets" do not exist. The terms "identical twins" and "fraternal twins" are used. Among the people, fraternal twins are called twins, and identical twins are actually twins. In this case, the word "twins" can be equally understood as both.
In the case when one fertilized egg in the uterus is divided into two, three or even four parts, identical twins develop - they are also called identical. The mechanism of birth of twins or triplets is very different. They appear when two or more eggs are fertilized by different sperm and develop independently of each other.
Similarities and differences between twins and twins
Identical twins are always of the same sex. At first glance, they usually appear indistinguishable from each other. They are often confused even by moms and dads, especially at an early age. Often, during infancy, identical twins manage to "change" their names more than once, and in the future they may well wear the same clothes. These twins always have the same eye color, skin and hair tone, and common facial features.
As for fraternal twins - twins - they can be of the same sex or different genders. Moreover, there are usually no more similarities between them than between ordinary brothers and sisters. That is, in principle, there may be practically no similarities at all - if, for example, one child “went to mom”, and the other - “to dad”.
Twins can be of different heights, builds - in some cases even of different skin colors (if, of course, their parents belong to different races).
Identical twins have the same blood group and factor, the same set and ratio of genes. They can always, if necessary, serve as donors of blood, tissues and organs for each other. Of course, with all this, they are still different people. Do not forget that mutations occur with a certain frequency in the germ and somatic cells. In addition, each of the twins accumulates his personal life experience on his own.
Most diseases are repeated in identical twins.
The heredity of fraternal twins can be similar or different, as in brothers and sisters born at different times, and their organs and tissues may well turn out to be incompatible during transplantation.
Alas, it is almost impossible to plan the birth of twins or twins. However, it is known that more often twins and triplets are born to women in whose families there have already been multiple pregnancies. In addition, the likelihood of having twins increases between the ages of 35-40. Identical twins are born with the same frequency at any age.
