Comparisons of dermatoglyphic patterns in monochorionic and dichorionic monozygotic twins.

The data presented here indicate that different influences affect dermatoglyphic pattern development in MC-MZ and DC-MZ twins. Only five of 84 variables had significant mean differences but their clustering suggested a real difference in mean placement of the atd angle. Nineteen of 84 variables had significantly different within-pair mean squares for the two twin types. Larger numbers of twins will be required to obtain accurate estimates of the magnitude of the dermatoglyphic differences between MC-MZ and DC-MZ twins. Studies of dermatoglyphics in MC-MZ and DC-MZ twins are important to the understanding of factors which influence early embryonic development and when better documented may provide a mechanism for retrospectively diagnosing placental type of MZ twins.